A Twist of Bitter Fate
by Elandria
Summary: Sarah and Jareth, a twist of fate and a long hidden feeling, love or hate? New chapters on the way! R and R please!
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.

All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

EDIT UPDATED 22ND JULY 2010 THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!

* * *

Fear hounded her mercilessly, making every sound a new monster in a living nightmare. The innocent imagination that had once crafted the Labyrinth was gone, replaced by an ebbing cynicism and realisation that the world was definitely not as beautiful or as pretty and safe as the 15 year old Sarah once imagined.

She knew he knew she was there, somewhere in his Labyrinth, and she knew instinctively that he was either furious or just very irritated, and neither option was a particularly pleasant one. No doubt her somewhat precipitous arrival had shocked him more than it had her, though she was the master of her own devilry for picking the fragment of mirror up from where it lay shrouded by dust in the attic. In her heart she knew that this time… this time he wouldn't be so helpful. She laughed at herself in her head.

"Helpful my ass…" She muttered glancing back towards the dark mass of the castle in the distance, ignoring the tell tale pulling that indicated her stupid party dress had once again entangled itself in the myriad of creeping, thorny bushes that lined the pathways.

This time they would be playing for keeps, and she really wasn't sure if she was strong enough to stand against him again. A sound on the stairs below made her jump, a curse held back by a bitten lip. She turned slowly and looked him in the eye as he stood, arms folded and glaring, perfect in every way and as unchanged as the day he had first shown her the Labyrinth. She sighed and sank down onto the steps touching her cheek tenderly.

"I didn't mean to." She whispered holding out the blood stained fragment of mirror in defence. "It shattered years ago and I don't know why I kept it but I didn't mean to come here."

"What did you mean to do then?" His voice slid across exposed nerve endings like silk making her shiver.

"I think… I think I was looking for somewhere to hide." The cut on her hand glistened in the moonlight like wet paint, the throbbing settling into a dull ache. She sat there in silence listening absently to distant sounds as he stood menacingly in the shadows. "You'd better take it back. I don't want Toby coming here by accident if he goes rummaging in the attic." She held the mirror out expecting him to move, to take it from her hand, yet he didn't and she gasped as it turned to sand. Crystalline particles flowed through her fingers only to be whisked away by the breeze that ruffled his elegant cloak and white hair.

"And what did you want me to do about it?" He asked eventually just as the silence was about to suffocate her.

"What?" Sarah looked up at him sharply, the bruise across her cheek clearly visible. She blinked and he was in front of her, so close as he knelt and ran a leather clad finger across the bruise making her flinch away, her eyes dark with suppressed fear.

"That's an impressive addition. Who gave you that little number precious one?" He purred as Sarah lost herself in his stare.

"None of your business…" She breathed, as he continued to look at her the way she suspected a lion might look at its prey. No, a panther she amended silently in her head as he rose and stalked back down the stairs.

"Very well." He said thoughtfully turning and walking away down the path. "You'll let me know when you decide won't you." He said snidely over his shoulder.

"I might stay here for a bit." Sarah replied, her courage returning for a split second until she cursed it back into the nether regions of her brain. She closed her eyes, waiting for tongue lashing and stinging sarcasm that never arrived.

"Stay or go I care not." He said pausing to turn and face her. "However a word of advice, beware the Labyrinth. It is a very different creature from what you once imagined it to be." He gave her a parting smirk before fading into the shadows, a trick that she still found incredibly irritating.

"Stupid mouth… and stupid me." She whispered as heavy clouds blotted out the new moon, the smell of hot wet pavement filling the air as the rain fell.

"Majesty." The creature clothed in midnight and shadows cleared its throat as its master pushed a semi clad elven woman from his lap and sent her away with her sisters. The others had long since returned to other realms, the music silent and halls empty.

"What is it?" He sighed picking up a goblet of wine and running the stem through his long fingers.

"She is still there Majesty."

"Still? In the same spot?"

"Yes Majesty."

"Remarkable"

"Do you wish me to bring her to you Sire?" The creature asked, bowing lower as Jareth rose from his throne and put his gloves on.

"No. She fascinates me, I will go myself." He said smirking and disappearing like fog.

He stood in the shadows watching her. No movement except for the soft swaying of her wet hair in the night breeze. Her head cradled in one hand hiding her face whist the other hung loosely, blood from the mirror cut staining the skin and pooling on the dress and step below. Jareth narrowed his eyes at the sight of her blood on the stone, a strange sense of anticipation making the hair on the back of his neck stir.

In the distance came a guttural roar, things were stirring that should not truly be here, and yet the master of the wild Labyrinth had no care or interest to stop them, that had changed; because of her. He felt only a faint satisfaction as she flinched in fear at the sound.

"I hope I didn't spoil your party." She whispered as he walked silently past her to look beyond an archway across the labyrinth.

"It is you who seems to be all dressed up with nowhere to go Sarah." She felt heat rising to her cheeks as he said her name.

"It was supposed to be fancy dress…" Sarah sighed as she spoke the words that seemed hollow and stupid. She looked up into the cloud stained sky and moaned as her head thudded in pain. "I don't feel very well." She mumbled looking at the cut across the palm of her hand that would not stop bleeding. As a moon appeared from behind another cloud she noticed that tiny grains of sand had embedded themselves into the wound, glittering like a dozen minute diamonds against a red satin backdrop.

The guttural roar this time was accompanied by the sounds of destruction, deep rumblings as stone hit stone.

"What is that?" She whimpered staggering to her feet and bracing herself against a wall. She watched as he shrugged and smiled at her.

"No idea, but it's certainly got your scent my dear."

"What?" She gasped closing her cut hand and trying to wrap it in the dress to stop the bleeding. The noises came again, closer now as he stepped towards her, the smile still fixed on his face but never reaching his eyes as she stepped back away from him.

"You should not have come here."

"Don't you think I know that? It wasn't deliberate! I didn't pick that mirror up with the intension of making a wish to come here. I didn't wish for anything!"

"Oh but my dear, you didn't need to." He said pausing as the ground lurched in protest at the destruction the unknown thing was making.

"But… I didn't mean to…"

"Surprising how you repeat yourself Sarah. I'm getting a feeling of de-ja-vu. Wait whilst I check to make sure you have not wished your brother away again..." He mocked.

"I wouldn't… not again. I wouldn't ever."

"Yet you would wish yourself away? Foolish child. You will never learn."

"I'm not a child!" She said angrily looking up at him.

"No." He said looking her up and down slowly "I can see that." He smirked as she blushed again, making the bruise on her cheek darker.

"Let me go home."

"Yet an hour ago you did not want to go home. How quickly you change your mind." He spat turning away from her.

"Wait please…" She begged stepping towards him the rest of her words drowned by howling that sent shivers down her spine as it got closer and closer.

"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I didn't know what the price was. Nobody told me the cost of what I had done! All I could think of was getting Toby home safe."

"The price? You dare speak of hurting me and the price of your betrayal? I gave you everything Sarah. Everything you wanted I gave you and you took it and asked for more. You destroyed my Labyrinth and you expect me to forgive you with a simple 'I'm sorry'?" He asked incredulously as he backed her against the wall again in his anger.

"You knew it was wrong." She retorted, stung by his words. "I am broken because of you. I exist in a half life because of what you have taken from me. What I can not ask to be returned for fear of what it will make me become!"

"What I have taken from you?" He scoffed "Take a good look around you Sarah. This is your doing not mine." He snarled pointing out at the Labyrinth.

"This is never going to work, you're never going to listen to me like this. Please take me somewhere …safe. This isn't how I thought it would be."

"Another demand? I'm tired of those."

"No, Your Majesty, I'm asking for your help." She whispered, tears blinding her as just around the corner the creature screamed in anticipation of an end to its hunt. The world grew dim as the pain in her head and hand throbbed as one and the wall behind her no longer seemed to support her weight.

"Please Jareth…" She begged.

Sensations returned warmth and the feeling of being held. Random thoughts skittered across her mind as she opened her eyes to renewed pain. He was carrying her down what looked to be the corridor outside her loft apartment. Outside the door he placed her carefully on her feet in silence.

"I can take you no further. You will need … treatment for that cut." He said pausing as she stood staring at the door as if it was about to jump and bite her. "There is nobody inside if that is what you are worried about. I would take you… but I am. Not welcome." The weight of his words crashed down around her as she tried to concentrate.

"Your goblins are not welcome here... you … you have always been welcome in my home." She felt like she was going to throw up as the corridor swayed. She felt his arm around her waist and let him guide her inside to her bathroom where he helped her to the toilet so she could throw up. Holding her when she could no longer stand he placed her in her empty bed before taking his gloves off and holding her cut hand in his. Fog of memory swept around her until she slept, oblivious to his dark brooding look as he watched her.

The years had refined her beauty he mused to himself as he stood there watching her sleeping. For a long time he had been denied this privilege and he drank in the sight of her like a dehydrated man at a pool of pure clean water. Her voice whispered through his mind, speaking his name over and over, taunting him and making him feel hollow, her hot breath still making his neck tingle where he had held her close. She had dared to defy him, yet asked for his help in the same breath and where the cold darkness of his heart lay buried beneath 10 years of anger and the need for revenge something else flickered and stirred.

"I fear you will be the death of me precious one."


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.

All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

Problem was she thought dragging herself out of her bed and surveying the damage from the nights pre-launch party was not that her loft apartment was a mess, but that there was nobody else but her to clean it. Resolutely she searched the kitchen to find the last of the bin bags and began throwing things in at random. Cringing as she picked up unidentifiable items Sarah vowed as she always did that next time He wanted to party she would point blank refuse to let Him bring everyone back here.

She sighed and stretched, her oversized t-shirt riding up to reveal more of her bare legs that according to some went all the way up to her armpits. The lanky too thin teenager had matured into a curvaceous, stunning woman and at 27 years of age Sarah had a natural grace and lithe beauty that other women paid lots of money to try and emulate.

Her hand itched and as she stood looking out of the large windows across the old quarter of the city she scratched the silvery scar that ran across her palm. 3 months since she had accidentally dropped into the labyrinth and had brought back a wash of memories and sadness. 3 months since she had seen the only other man in her life after 12 years of fleeting dreams.

"Don't kid yourself Sarah." She muttered turning away from the autumn sunshine to carry on cleaning.

An hour later the surfaces were clean and tidy, furniture had been put back in its rightful place and the last evidence of the previous night was being thoroughly washed by her overworked dishwasher. She sat flopped and exhausted on the sofa by the windows staring into nothingness as her headache kicked in with a vengeance worthy of the goblin king. She mentally chided herself again for bringing him to mind when the main door banged open and like a whirlwind of chaos Toby came in and scattered the calm, and his belongings over the dining table.

"Wotcha Tobe. Why so early?" Sarah asked picking up her cold cup of tea and walking into the kitchen to watch him raiding the left-over's in the fridge.

"Dads being a pain." He said retreating to the table with half a cold pizza. "What we doing today?" He asked through a mouthful as Sarah wrinkled her nose as his bad manners. In the typical fashion Toby had the ability to grow 3 inches a day and consume junk food in an inhuman capacity that only boys can achieve. She slumped on the table opposite him and watched her brother stuff pizza in his mouth.

"I have to drop by the gallery. Whys dad being a pain?"

"He's locked himself in the den again. I dunno. Do we have to go to the gallery?"

"Have you spoken to Karen about it, and yes we do. I need to make sure everything is ok with the sales we got last night. It shouldn't take long."

"Will Olly be there?" Toby looked up at his sister with a shuttered look, ignoring the query about his mother.

"I doubt it." Sarah got up and walked back into her bedroom and closed the door leaving Toby to ponder the shortness of her reply as he ate second breakfast.

She reappeared 15 minutes later looking like a supermodel with tousled waist long, damp hair from a quick shower wearing tailored trousers in cream and a soft green top that showed off her curves. Toby wished for a millionth time he had his sisters dark hair as he got up and turned the TV off; glowering as she reached over and scrubbed at his mid brown scruffy cut as he passed her at the door.

"Can Petey and Nick come over this afternoon?" He asked as they drove into the city center and the gallery.

"Only if you finish your homework first."

"Aww Sarah it's the weekend!"

"All the more reason to get it out the way first." She replied not budging on the argument they had every weekend.

"I need new trainers." Toby mused picking at his shoes as they waited at a set of traffic lights.

"Whats wrong with those?"

"They are 6 months old and the sole is falling off." Toby stated shifting his foot so she could see the hole.

"You'll have to ask Karen."

"But she'll just get me another cheap pair. Why can't you get me some? You do know if she gets me a pair I'll be the laughing stock at school. Least you know the designer stores." Toby groused removing his foot from her view and pouting out the window. "Its not like you don't have the money."

"I won't if you keep spending it."

"I'll sell my share of the gallery then." He stated matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

"You will not Toby Williams. You can't. Daddy and I wouldn't buy it and you're not 18 yet."

"Dad doesn't care. He doesn't care about anything any more."

"He's not well Tobe. Please don't be difficult."

"Why can't I just come and live with you? He doesn't even notice when I'm in the house and I hate living with mum."

"You know why. I'm not your legal guardian Tobe." Sarah sighed parking the car in the underground parking lot and walking slowly over to the stairs as Toby followed her sulking.

"I'm sorry little bro. I wish things were better. I'll try speaking to him tomorrow." She said hugging him to her and noting once again that he was almost her height now as he grunted and pulled away before she could kiss him.

Martin flashed a casual salute to them both as he held open the big glass doors into the gallery. Sarah breathed deeply; she loved this place; a constant haven of peace, imagination and creativity, each piece of artwork on the pale walls beckoning her eyes to explore their hidden meanings. Toby immediately stopped to talk to Martin who enjoyed spending time with the youngest member of the Williams family as Sarah headed up the broad white staircase towards the offices, waving at Chris as he appeared from one of the other gallery sections, a duster in his hand.

"Any messages?" She queried Anita as she reached the second floor and the office manager who looked up from a pile of papers scattered across her desk and grinned.

"Nope. Calm before the storm; 14 pieces last night and 3 queries on private commissions. Dave will be chuffed." The pretty blonde said handing a sheaf of receipts to Sarah as she passed the desk.

"More than I expected, that's brilliant!" She smiled flicking through the receipts and making a mental tally of the sales as she sat down at her own equally cluttered desk.

"There was a query about one of your paintings too…" Anita said quietly following her boss into the room with a cup of tea.

"They aren't for sale." Sarah replied inhaling tea and figures.

"You could make a fortune if you sold even a couple of them."

"Not for sale. Why would I need more money? The gallery makes me more than enough." Sarah shrugged looking up at her friend and smiling. "I should take them down, that space could be used for another client."

"Its your gallery… you're allowed to show off your own art you know." Anita sighed walking back to her own desk to answer the phone as Chris replaced her, glaring at her from behind his designer glasses and floppy hair.

"Darling you simply MUST sell your artwork." He sighed examining a sketch pad of a hopeful artist wanting gallery space.

"Not for sale." Sarah repeated turning away from her desk to get a folder from the filing cabinets behind her.

"It's a disgrace. I could have sold your sexy goblin king 100 times over. I wouldn't mind him myself…"

"Don't you have work to be doing?"

"No darling. Everything is spick and span and Dinah isn't due till 11. What's this about Olly taking on another hopeless case?"

"You'd have to ask him. Apparently she's got talent but it remains to be seen."

"Talent in what? Taking her knickers off?" Chris mused walking over to the large table and sitting down to look through an art catalogue. He ignored the blank stare Sarah gave him as she sat down opposite him and handed him a big portfolio.

"Tell me what you think of those." She said flicking hair out of her face.

"You have been a busy girl. You are wasted. Utterly wasted." Chris muttered as he greedily flicked though her sketches. "He's so dishy. One day you must introduce me." He stopped to admire a pencil sketch of the handsome and rakish Goblin King surrounded by his goblin court. At the back of the sketchbook he noticed a small rough of a girl in a beautiful dress staring off into the distant view of a castle and a maze.

"This one." He nodded pointing to it with a manicured finger. "This one you must finish." He stated adamantly drawing her attention to the sketch.

"I don't think I can." Sarah whispered closing her eyes. "I can't see it any more. Its changed." She said unhappily remembering the dark twisted plants and heavy forbidding clouds like his angry eyes as her scar itched again.

"What's changed?" Toby asked walking in with a cookie.

"Nothing." Sarah said quickly removing the portfolio from her brother's sight and putting it away as Chris narrowed his eyes at her.

"You did well last night, 9 sales. Pretty damn impressive, we should be able to manoeuvre everything about and look for a new artist for you next week." Sarah said all business.

"You mean we'll be able to move everything so that Olly can get a new client." Chris stated.

"No. He had the last slot, it's your turn, not only that you've been doing twice as many sales as he has for your clients."

"He won't like it."

"He doesn't have to like it. Start looking through the submissions and see what takes your fancy. The installation space is free too from next week."

"Are we taking on another wacky one or something a bit more user friendly that won't poke your eyes out if you get too close?" Chris asked referring to the spiky affair currently occupying the space as he followed Sarah from her office with Toby in tow.

"Definitely something more user friendly, I'd like to try and get that young guy in from the university who's doing those beautiful classical sculptures…" Sarah mused as she paused at the top of the stairs.

"Finish that drawing." Chris muttered at her as she passed him.

"Ok, we're off, Toby and I have a date with a new pair of trainers." She said putting her coat on and waving to Anita and frowning at Chris. "I'll see."

"Bye!" Toby yelled as he bounced out the door heading in the direction of the shops as Sarah dragged her feet behind him still nursing her headache.

They hadn't mentioned last night. They never did, which under the circumstances was probably better. She knew they didn't approve of Him, knew they hated how he spoke to her and treated her like crap and flirted outrageously with other women in front of her. They didn't really know the half of it Sarah thought sadly as Toby tried on another pair of trainers happily chatting to the store staff, oblivious to his sisters inner turmoil.

"Those fit you squirt?" She asked finally as he paraded up and down the store in front of the mirrors. He nodded and took them off, handing the box to the attendant who bustled off to ring up the purchase. Sarah, only half a mind on the job and grateful that it had only taken 5 shops to find a pair he liked handed over her credit card and then as the woman at the counter handed Toby the bag and her the receipt almost choked when she saw the price. Sarah glared at Toby as he grinned impishly and bounded out the shop.

"Those are coming out your allowance for the next 10 years." She muttered as they headed back towards the parking lot when a dress shop caught Toby's eye.  
"You should get that." He said pointing to the strapless moss green dress in the window.

"Why do I need another new dress? Haven't we spent enough money today?" Toby shrugged as Sarah looked closely at the dress, which was she admitted very pretty.

"You look like you need cheering up too." He said before carrying on walking. Sarah stood there in front of the shop window and caught sight of her reflection, sighing deeply before following him.

The loft felt desolate as they walked back in, something indescribable was missing, and Sarah believed she was the only one who knew what. She loved the space and openness, and the success of the gallery had allowed her to fill the open rooms with beautiful furniture and artwork, and even though it was frequently filled with people she always felt lonely. The only time it faded was when she was with Toby, when she was content that it hadn't all been for nothing. That she hadn't given up her heart and happiness for no reason because he was safe. She knew she only stayed with Olly because she was desperately afraid that if she didn't she'd fade into nothing. It was a stupid fear she chided herself as she cooked lunch for them both but admitting the fact and doing something about it were two different things, and her encounter with Jareth had only highlighted that fear.

She ate lunch in silence, watching Toby as he tried to do his homework, a chunk of crusty bread in one hand and his pen in the other, her scar itching.

The phone rang and she jumped as Toby got up to go answer it. He stood there listening in silence then held the phone out for her, displeasure written all over his face.

"Hello?"

"Where have you been all morning? You were supposed to go and get my dry cleaning, I've just had a call from the shop. Why didn't you go?"

"I was out with Toby. It slipped my mind, don't worry you can collect it tomorrow."

"You mean you can go and collect it tomorrow. I've not got time. I'm taking Cassandra to Paris in 2 hours and won't be back till Tuesday. Once again you've fucked up my plans. You're bloody useless."

"It's a good job I'm not giving you the next space for a new client. You're never here to deal with them." Sarah said stubbornly, ignoring the hurt in her heart as he told her he was taking one of his clients to Paris. How many times had he said he would take her, and had always failed to make good on his promises.

"He can fuck off and all. I'm the senior director he can wait. I'm sick and tired of you micro managing and messing things up Sarah. Stay in your bloody office and let me deal with the new clients. I've got to go anyhow, Cassandra is here. Make sure you get my stuff for me and the champagne needs reordering for Cassandra's launch party next Friday."

The line went dead. Toby stood and looked at her and for some reason she couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"I'm going to go lay down for a bit Tobe. Don't be too noisy when you have your friends over." She said hugging him and then walking off to her own room.

Toby sat listening to the radio for 10 minutes before he dared open the portfolio she had left by the door to her studio. He sat in the afternoon sunshine and flipped though pages and pages filled to bursting with little creatures, goblins with funny faces and graceful elves and fairies, and whole pages with sketches of the Goblin King. Toby sighed as he closed the portfolio and placed it back by the door.

"She needs you. I wish you'd help her." For an instant he thought he caught a faint trace of damp grass and wild things as he turned to go back to the phone to call his friends; but the moment was gone, and he thought nothing further of his words, knowing they had been heard.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.

All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

She woke with the dusk and wandered out into the sitting room to find Toby and his friend busy playing a video game on the big TV.

"Hope you finished your homework." She said walking into the kitchen to grab a cold drink.

"I need help with the maths." Toby said as she stood in the doorway downing some headache tablets and choking down the anti-depressants at the same time.

"Hi Sarah." Petey said looking up from intently watching the game.

"Hey Petey, where's Nick?"

"Home, he's got a cold."

"Too bad, are you staying over tonight?" Sarah asked walking over towards her studio.

"If its ok?"

"Sure. Tobe have you moved my portfolio?" She paused as she opened the door.

"Nope, you left it by the door." Toby replied, sidetracked by the video game. Sarah frowned and closed the door behind her to find the portfolio open on the big work table in the middle of the room. She frowned in confusion, closing the portfolio before turning to put some music on and stepping out through the glass doors onto the balcony to come face to face with a barn owl sat on the railings.

"It's rude to stare." She told the bird leaving the door open and walking back into the studio. Settling herself in her favourite chair she took up pencil and paper and began to sketch the owl as it sat and glared at her.

She ruthlessly repressed the anxiety and worry, trying to calm her inner self as she drew, concentrating solely on getting the details of the birds feathers right, their texture and markings appearing on the pristine paper gracefully, and had a heart attack as she looked up again to find him stood leaning back against the railing nonchalantly regarding her with narrowed eyes.

"I preferred you as a bird." She muttered feeling self conscious in her over sized t-shirt and sweat pants. "Why are you here?" She asked finally, putting down the pencil and rubbing her scar without realising.

"Somebody asked me to be here." He replied turning and looking out over the city, his pale hair turning golden in the last of the suns rays.

"Why are you here?" He asked in return, turning back to regard her as she got up and put the sketchbook down, the drawings catching his eye. "Not bad for somebody who calls themselves an amateur." He said flicking through the pages. "Not sure if I should be flattered or not, some of these make me look less than perfect." He ignored her glare as she took the book from his hands and placed it on a pile out of his reach.

"It's my house, why are you really here?" She said refusing to budge as he turned and came closer to her, his superior smirk unnerving her.

"I already told you precious. Somebody asked me to... stop by." Absently he regarded her through hooded eyes, noting that the bruise on her cheek had long since faded as he picked up her hand to examine the scar. Sarah bit her lip as his gloved fingers held her captive.

"It itches." She said, feeling stupid as soon as she opened her mouth as he cast her a disparaging look and released her hand to turn back to the door. Fear rose, making her heart pound as she thought he was about to leave and before she knew it she had crossed the intervening space and grasped hold of his arm, the silk of his shirt whispering against her fingers. "Don't go, I meant what I said Jareth, I'm sorry."

"Do you think it is that easy?" He sneered not looking at her. "Do you think that makes things right between us Sarah? Do you think that absolves you of your guilt?" Sarah shook her head in mute apology. She gasped as he turned abruptly and grasped hold of her neck, forcing her back against a bookshelf. His presence overwhelmed her as his anger took over and he pressed her against the bookshelf harder. "What makes you think your apology means anything to me little girl? You escaped the Labyrinth because I let you win. Foolish child, you assume you bested me? You were pathetic. You think any of this will change what you did?" He snarled ignoring the heat on his chest where she placed her hand to try and push him away as he revelled in the control and the terror in her eyes.

"Please stop..." She whimpered gasping for breath.

"You're pathetic." He said before releasing her, letting her fall to the floor at his feet, where she belonged. He turned away to the balcony, feeling hemmed in by all the books and paper. "12 years and that's all you can say Sarah? All the others, they stayed with you, and only now you realise you need me? The damage you have done to my realm can not be undone with just an apology. We have debts you and I; they will be repaid." He ignored her as she got up off the floor, her hands shaking as she fumbled for her drink to try and wash away the fear.

"I didn't expect my apology to change anything. I know I'm responsible for a lot of things Jareth, but you are too. I told you last time, you broke me. I don't know what is missing but, nothing feels right. You've taken something from me and I want it back. I can't live a half life any more. I want to be able to feel more than just fear and anger. I want to feel alive. I want to feel what its like to love somebody and be loved in return. I don't want to be alone in a world filled by people I can't connect with." She finished standing before him, challenging him to deny he had broken her. "You didn't let me win. You tried your best to make sure I didn't." She stated standing up straighter, ignoring the pain of the bruised flesh on her neck.

"I did no such thing."

"I'm not naive any more, and I remember what you said; and you didn't say those things out of a need to get your jollies off. You said them because they were important. You needed me to relinquish control, to be your slave. You said it because you needed me, or something I had that you wanted, and it wasn't my brother. Toby was just an excuse."

"You still talk too much." He said bitterly, turning away from her, ignoring the triumphant look in her eyes. "You've become weak Sarah. When did you start begging?" He mocked her.

"When you made me make a decision I was too young to understand." She snarled walking back into her studio and flopping down in the chair, her head spinning. He followed her and as she leant back in the comfortable chair he leant in over her, his hands leaning on the arm rests either side of her, pinning her in.

"Don't give me that bullshit about being innocent Sarah." He murmured, his lips inches from hers. "You can't lie to me Precious, I've seen your dreams, and you are still just a frightened little girl who doesn't know her own power." He taunted her again.

"No I'm not." She whispered, enthralled by his proximity.

"Prove it." He glared, not moving. He smirked as she bit her lip and finally broke eye contact. "Thought so."

"Why do you go out of your way to hurt me?"

"Au contraire mon chéri. You hurt yourself. There is nobody else to blame but you, nobody makes you stay with a man who takes his insecurities out on you, nobody makes you let him walk all over you, nobody but you lets him get away with sleeping with other women when he likes whilst you pretend to be the dutiful little girlfriend. If you were mine Precious I'd never let you out of my sight and I'd make damn sure everyone knew you were off limits. Your work colleague is right, you are wasted and you are in over your head." During his speech she had turned back to face him, her eyes trying to find some measure of concern or compassion in his, but all she found was cold hardness and anger.

"Go away. If this is how you think you are helping, just... go away." Sarah said, ignoring the tears as she pushed her way out of the chair and past him towards the door.

"You can only defy me so many times Precious before you make me really angry. There are debts between you and I." He said with an intense finality and warning before he changed form and flew away into the night sky; leaving Sarah shaken and once more alone.

Cursing herself for an idiot she slid to the floor by the door; angry she had let him control her emotions so, made her feel so very vulnerable.

"Just like Him." She muttered picking up a book that had fallen off the shelf when he has pushed her against it. How long she sat there for she couldn't have said, but when her lethargic shock passed away her stubbornness reasserted itself and made her get up, picking up and placing back displaced items in the room, carefully stowing the sketches back into the hard leather bound portfolio and placing it with others that were considerably fuller in the rack. Mechanically she closed and locked the balcony door, chasing away the chill autumn night even though with the permission she had granted him doors were not a problem to his oh so royal pain in the ass.

"How am I supposed to repay a debt when I don't even know what the debt really is?" She mused picking up a stray pencil and unsure what to do with herself she sat back down in her chair, glaring at the sketch of the owl which glared at her, mockingly. Feeling childish she stuck her tongue out at the owl and turned him over, sketching a rough render of a clock with 13 hours.

"Is this a dream or should I be worrying?" She asked turning around to watch him basking in the afternoon sunlight on a throne made of stone books.

"A dream. My Labyrinth no longer takes this form."

"And why pray tell Your Majesty are you in my dream?"

"Lets call it curiosity."

"That's what gets people in trouble you know." She sighed turning away from him; idly tracing the path of the sundial at her feet, pausing as she reached number 13. "Why are there 13 hours?"

"Now who is curious?" He smirked leaning back on the bronze sundial pointer as she shrugged and ignored his capriciousness.

"So. What next?"

"That depends on you."

"Really?"

"No. Not really, I thought I'd try and be gracious."

"Gosh. You're really feeling out of sorts aren't you."

"Nothing for you to worry about Sarah."

"Apparently though it is, else you wouldn't be here, on a sundial, with me, floating in mid air above the labyrinth. Forgive me if it seems a tiny bit surreal, and ironic, but I'm trying to grasp the hidden symbols and nuances so when you shout at me mercilessly for forgetting something I have an excuse for it."

"What excuse was that?"

"Too many hidden symbols. Too many implied words. Too many innuendoes. Too many damn things I don't understand." She groused walking around the dial again, watching the shadow of the hour mark follow her. She stopped again with the 13 at her feet and turned to face him squarely, ignoring the voice in the back of her head who appreciated the easy way he lent on the thin bronze dial, one foot up; twirling a crystal in his hand like it was the most comfortable place to sit in the world; the book throne gone in the blink of an eye. He smirked at her again and watched with hooded eyes as for no apparent reason she blushed.

"What is the debt."

"I do not wish to discuss that."

"I do."

"Tough. This is neither the time nor the place."

"Why not? Seems a perfectly logical place to begin." She muttered folding her arms and glaring at him. "If this isn't the right time, when will it be the right time? Now?" She asked stepping sideways to the number 1. "Or how about now?" She moved again, staring out at the labyrinth far below, its destruction softened by distance.

"You will be told when the time is …appropriate." He whispered into her ear making her shiver involuntarily.

"I think you enjoy this too much." She continued, turning to face him again and realising she was now almost tall enough to look him in the eye.

"My dear, what greater pleasure can there be?" He asked moving closer.

"You're changing the subject again." She stated, refusing to move as she glared into his mismatched eyes, mentally stopping herself from getting lost in the depths.

"I think you're frightened." He crooned, his lips almost close enough to touch hers.

"I know I am."

"For there to be forgiveness there must first be a discussion for the.. lets call it.. compensation for the crime committed." Her heart stopped as he kissed her breath away.

She woke gasping.

"That was definitely NOT how it was supposed to go." She whispered trying to stretch the kinks out of her neck from falling asleep in her chair. The sketchbook had fallen to the floor as she dreamt, and once again the owl was looking at her with mocking eyes. With a sigh she left her studio and crept to her room and her bed.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.

All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

**Thanks go to Pika-la-Cynique for borrowing her awesome labyrinth t-shirts shamelessly! :D

* * *

The morning brought howling gales stripping the trees of their autumn finery, mocking and teasing people in the streets blowing hair and coats into disarray. Sarah sat and watched the world lazily from her bedroom window, safely wrapped in the warmth and comfort of her duvet. Whilst she refused stubbornly to brood about Ollie her thoughts kept returning over and over again to the titbits of information His Glitteryness had dropped, both in his visit and her dream.

"If I was his indeed.." she grunted wafting a hand at the alarm clock to turn it off for the 5th time. She should program it to not go off on the weekends.. but somehow the thought always swept from her mind the moment it entered. Sundays was her day. Sundays she could lock herself in the comfort and cosiness of her studio and surround herself with fantasy and colour and magic the real world failed time after time to provide. Yet today she found herself mentally resisting her morning routine. She lay glaring at the ceiling thinking of meandering spiral staircases that lead to floating sundials until something thunked onto her window making her gasp and sit up. In a painfully comical way a small goblin was plastered to the outside of her window, and slowly with the dry set your teeth on edge squeaking it slid down the windowpane; a look of abject terror in its tiny too big eyes as it stared at her.

With a sigh Sarah crawled out of bed and opened the other window, reaching out against the buffeting wind to pick the tiny but fat goblin up by the scruff of its neck. Or in this case by the long sock it had tied around its neck.

"Wotcha Lady! Kingy says Gob haf to tell ya message." It said as soon as Sarah had dropped it onto the top of her dresser before closing the window again. The tiny thing immediately got sidetracked by her jewellery box and began edging towards a pair of dangly earrings.

"Stop. Turn around. Give me the message."

"Kingy say Gob the best choice. Kingy say uvver goblinz too smelly."

"That was his message?" Sarah sighed returning hopefully to her duvet in search of lost warmth.

"Kingy make Gob fly owl service. Not nice. Nuffin toweet." The goblin sat down and turned puppy dog eyes on Sarah who was buried up to her nose in duvet.

"Message first." Sarah glared back. "Then maybe food." At this the goblin perked up considerably.

"Kingy wanna know why Lady never draw funny paintings of Lady."

"That's the message?" Sarah squawked in outrage climbing from her duvet in indignation. "He sent a half sized goblin to ask me that on a Sunday morning? Is he out of his tree?" She howled ramming her feet into her slippers and throwing on her silk kimono over her T-shirt before stalking out the bedroom to stop and stare at the scene in her living room. Crashed out on her sofa, along with Toby and Petey sat Jareth, King of the goblins, dressed in jogging bottoms and a t-shirt that stated "I have moved the stars, I have re-ordered time, I have turned the world upside down… and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" They were deeply involved in racing each other on the plasma TV and didn't even notice her as she stood gaping at them. Gob trotted past her feet in the direction of the kitchen, the movement making Jareth look up from the screen and grin evilly at her as his eyes followed her legs all the way up until Sarah hastily wrapped the kimono further around herself.

"Thought we heard your dulcet tones. Rudely awoken were we?" Toby and his friend snorted and reset the game.

Sarah gave him a look of deepest disgust and stalked back into her bedroom slamming the door behind her.

"Shes so not a morning person." Toby laughed stuffing his face with bagel.

"Again. This time I'm going to kick your ass Toby." Jareth said casting a final look at the closed door of Sarahs bedroom thoughtfully.

She lay under the duvet trying and failing to ignore the wooping and hollering coming from the 3 annoying males in the living room. Resolutely Sarah stuffed the pillows over her head as well and went back to sleep. Hours later she woke groggy and hot, throwing the pillows and duvet off herself before she smothered. Huffing she listened carefully for any signs of life beyond the door and was relieved to hear nothing. Glad of the silence, the bathroom and her fabulous power shower called to her and overrode the grumbling of her tummy.

"Shower first" She told it grabbing towels off the rack and turning the spray on so the water could heat up as she brushed her teeth. 20 minutes later having wrestled with her tresses Sarah cautiously poked her head out into the living room and finding it still empty and mercifully clean she pottered into the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine and dishwasher before raiding the fridge for edibles. She'd need to go shopping again, whilst Toby was good about tidying up after himself and his friends they invariably ate her out of house and home every weekend. Settling for a sandwich and a mug of coffee she made her way back to the dining table to eat and read the local paper which Toby had left out for her.

Tales of muggings and murders and terrorist threats and shops going bust she ignored, they were depressing. Instead she turned to the personal ad's and items for sale. A habit she'd had for a long time. She pondered what made people write those tiny ad's looking for love or wanting to sell odd items, the very humanness of it was startling and all too apparent. Lady seeks companionship, but no mention of love, child's fish tank for sale to a good home, 1 used cat flap. Desperate pleas for information about missing relatives or pets, all hid deeper stories of people in the city she'd never connect to. That very fact was what weighed most heavily in her mind. Since that night so long ago, she'd been changed. The labyrinth had made her see the truth of reality, and the lies humans created for themselves in order to cope. It was heartbreaking, yet she had no emotion for them. She simply existed. Having touched unreality and walked between worlds she craved something more, not just him, but the world in which he existed. Her art was a way back into the fringes of that world, but even that left her unsatisfied, her pictures and sketches, like herself were missing something.

Sarah sighed and looked up to find him sat in a momentary patch of sunshine watching her. His platinum hair shone, vestiges of magic spun around him like an aura even as like a cat he looked right at home despite his now usual clothing looking odd in the modern surroundings.

"How long?"

"Years."

"Why? You can't take him away again, I won't let you."

"He is clever like his sister and his curiosity like yours wouldn't let him have a normal life. He like you has seen things this world can not explain."

"Stay there." She instructed leaving the table and disappearing into her studio returning moments later carrying a sketchbook and pencils, plonking herself unceremoniously at the other end of the couch.

"Why now?" She asked finding a fresh page and frantically began to sketch, glancing up at him every so often to make sure she got the details of his lazy position on the couch in the sunlight.

"Your fault. If you hadn't come back without an invitation I would have left things alone. I hadn't realised you still had.. gifts." He brooded looking out the window.

"gifts?" Sarah paused and looked up properly at him until he turned back to her, his expression unreadable.

"The labyrinth, like its master is capricious and often does things on a whim. It was enchanted by your stubbornness and intrigued by your ability to imagine such things as it created for you. As you saw when you dropped in last time it does not often take on such a look as what you saw the first time you entered."

Jareth watched her sketching frantically, absently wafting damp locks out of her face as they fell forwards and got in her way. Just like his labyrinth she enchanted him, and despite the anger he still felt in his heart he could feel years of rage ebbing away into the sunlight.

Her dream the night before had shocked him out of his wrath, even now when she touched the labyrinth it reacted to her like nothing he had ever seen. Few had such abilities, even as he mused he reminded himself again of the words she had spoken "my kingdom as great…" maybe not her kingdom, but his kingdom. The ancient magic that had swirled around them that night even he couldn't fathom but as Jareth watched the artist in her work he saw what no other creature could see. Her magic was breaking closer to the surface, it ebbed and flowed around her like his own, sparkling in the ether. For the first time since she had wished her brother away Jareths traitorous heart queried if she could ever love him, ever submit to him as he had asked.

Gob appeared on the sofa next to her and whilst she wasn't looking stole her eraser, chewing it thoughtfully to see if it tasted good.

"Done. You can move now." She said finally sitting up and stretching her back. Scowling at Gob she removed the bits of eraser from his mouth and gathered up the other bits he had scattered on the cushion. "You owe me a new one."

Getting up she placed the sketchpad on the table and grabbing her coffee mug disappeared into the kitchen. Seconds later she nearly dropped the milk as he appeared behind her in the doorway silently.

"Must you creep around like that? Coffee?" She asked trying to ignore the confined space and his immediacy. He nodded as she got out another mug.

"My dream last night…" She queried eventually as she waited for the coffee machine to spit out its contents into the waiting mugs. "Was that really the labyrinth or just my imagination being wild?" Jareth watched as she fiddled with a teaspoon, weirdly pleased that she found his presence uncomfortable.

"Both." Was his cryptic reply as he took a handful of grapes from the fruit bowl and ate them.

"And?"

"And what? You don't really expect me to be so forthcoming all day do you? You've had your question and answer session." He smirked as Sarah growled as she handed him a mug of coffee before purposefully blocking her exit from the kitchen.

"Let me past please.." She muttered backing up from him as he approached her.

"Now its time for you to answer my questions."

"Wouldn't this be better in the lounge?" She quailed as she backed up against the sink holding her coffee in front of her like a shield.

"Why have you become a martyr? A goodie two shoes?" He growled glaring at her. "Time was you wouldn't let anybody walk all over you, not even me."

"Things changed." Sarah murmured having the grace to blush at his hard words.

"Why?"

"I'm not.. I don't know."

"Yes you do, but you won't even admit it to yourself. You've become a mouse Sarah. Where is the spirit and the conviction and the fight?"

"I grew up. I learnt that lifes not fair. That dreams don't come true…"

"For you they could have."

"By sacrificing my brother for a childish whim? Out of spitefulness and resentment and jealousy? What would that have made me Jareth?" She cried in horror, the coffee tasted bitter in her mouth like the memories he was dredging up and in disgust she turned away from him and poured the rest down the drain.

"I gave up the things I thought I wanted most to make sure he was safe. I'll never forgive myself for wishing him away. You knew that the moment you came into my dads bedroom. I begged you not to take him. I was a child and I made a mistake, but you made me pay the price anyhow. You took the rest of my childhood from me. In 13 hours trying to get through the labyrinth you tore apart every single one of my preconceptions about how things were. When I managed to get us back and I sat in my bedroom, before I realised I could still speak to Hoggle and Didymus and Ludo I was devastated. Everything I had treasured, everything I had cared about was childish rubbish. For 2 years I never dreamt about anything else except you and the labyrinth and the only way I felt better was to draw what I saw. Trying to convince myself that everything in this world was a bad dream, always alone, never connecting, living a shadow. You broke me Jareth, so when you come here preaching at me about being walked all over and acing like a mouse with no spine you should go look at yourself in the mirror for the answer!" She wailed getting up some courage to push her way past him before all the fears and terror in her mind came crashing out. She caught herself at the dining room table, gasping for breath from tears that would not stop. "You are right. There are debts between us, but I'm not the only one who should be apologising or asking for forgiveness!" When she turned to face him she found nothing but an empty kitchen. Not even his coffee mug to mark that he had been there.

Jareth, King of the Goblins, Ruler of the Labyrinth, Lord of the High Reaches swore in several languages as he suddenly found himself stood in the council chambers in the castle beyond the goblin city, or the Dump as he affectionately called it.

"NOW? Anyetta?" He bellowed stomping up to the table and glaring murderously at the occupants.

"Now Your Majesty." The beautiful fae said un-phased by his entrance as she shuffled papers about. "We are here to discuss the case of High Lord Intalor and his indiscretions…"

"King Jareth it would do you well to sit down at this table and behave yourself lest I find you in contempt. You are making Kamin nervous." Anyetta stated glaring back at Jareth until he muttered another curse and sat down at his place. She proceeded to explain the details of the lord in question whilst Jareth noisily drank his coffee to irritate her.

"Why is this even before the council?" He demanded when she finished listing the details.

"He raped a 14 year old scion of House Gathamar, this demands reparation and compensation! My niece hadn't even entered her minor society level yet!" Kamin cried outraged banging his fist on the table.

"Then chastise him, take away his title and give it to the girl, why the hell did you need me to decide this?" Jareths anger bubbled over. "Frankly Kamin if shes the niece I am thinking of this wouldn't be the first indiscretion the way her parents let her dress and the way she keeps trying to be invited to my parties. I would have thought you of all people would prefer to keep this a private matter between the houses…" The fae at the other end of the table turned puce at Jareths words and rose, knocking the table and sending Sarahs mug crashing to the floor.

"You!..."

"Kamin take my advice. Deal with this as a private matter or I will see to it that this becomes the most public, messy scandal the court has seen for years. Don't try my patience." Jareth said with a deadly voice.

"High Lord Kamin, it is with sympathy I must add my backing to his Majesties thought. This could get very messy for your house very quickly if Intalor decides to cross accuse your niece of falsifying her credentials." The other occupant of the table rose also, leaving Anyetta sat on her own.

"Of course you would side with him! You're biased!" Kamin groused pulling his cloak around him in disgust.

"Hold your tongue Kamin. I am not biased one way or another, I simply see sense of what could and most likely would happen. Return to your house and seek compensation privately, thus is the will of this court." The man raised a brow as Kamin looked set to argue further, instead the High Lord stomped off across the room almost reaching the door before he belatedly remembered his manners and bowed sketchily to Jareth before walking out and slamming the door behind him.

"if the pair of you EVER summon me like this again I'll behead you both for treason." Jareth spat turning on them as soon as the door was closed.

"You look vexed brother."

"You have no idea." He muttered summoning a maid to clean up the broken mug. "Get out before I do something I will regret." He slumped back down in his chair as they both bowed low and left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

The week started a disaster and went steadily downhill from there. She forgot again on Monday morning to retrieve Ollies suits from the dry cleaners and had to beg Anita to run and get them before he appeared in the gallery at lunch time with Cassandra who was sporting a golden tan from their weekend in Paris and showing off the diamond necklace that he had bought for her using Sarah's money she didn't doubt she later confessed to Chris who was seething.  
Tuesday she forgot to order the champagne for Friday and had to run around trying to find another stockist who could supply them for the launch party that Friday, and to top it all she'd managed to knock her coffee all over her sketchbook, utterly ruining the sketch she had created of Jareth over the weekend. Fortunately the sepia colour the paper had taken on after she'd done her best to mop up the mess didn't completely obliterate her pencil lines so she'd be able to work from it on a larger piece.  
Wednesday Ollie had another screaming match with her about opening up a new slot for Chris but she refused to back down. His venom and negativity draining her to the point of exhaustion, it was only her stubborn pride that kept her from giving in. He then took it out on Anita, making her cry, which made Sarah feel even worse.  
Thursday dawned sunny and still after a weeks worth of blustery rain squalls and when Ollie realised Sarah was taking both Chris and Anita out with her to visit the sculpture artist the day before his big launch for Cassandra he threw another wobbler telling Sarah she would have to get everything organised herself because he'd be damned if he was going to do it on his own whilst she skived off and took half his staff with her. When Sarah retorted that it was his launch to organise not hers, and that she would take HER staff wherever she pleased he gave her a look that meant she'd pay later and stormed out the building.

By the time she'd gathered her wits she realised that they were almost at the university and was rather glad that Chris was driving.  
"I'm so sorry guys; I don't know what's come over me." She sighed mournfully trying to throw some powder over her cheeks to wash away the paleness.  
"Hush darling it's not your fault he's a twat." Chris said patting her leg before changing gear. "We'll stay a bit later tonight and get everything spick and span, it will be fine, and will do you credit. Though I sincerely wish that fucker would come off worse in an argument with a concrete block driving that car of his, it's the least he deserves." Chris went on muttering as they pulled into the parking lot. Sarah forbore to comment, instead letting Anita fix her face and add a swipe of lip gloss before they entered the building. At the reception, Anita in her usual organised fashion found the location of the student workshop from the girl at the desk and lead the way, telling Chris off for getting sidetracked as they strode down quiet hallways that had the usual smell of cleaning chemicals that all institutes of education had. Out though a side entrance into a cavernous hangar style building filled with the sounds of industrious students they had to again drag Chris away from another student who was forging jewellery at a small kiln. At the far end behind a massive lump of uncut stone on a sagging palette they found Ambrose Veltini, covered from head to foot in fine stone dust as he gently smoothed a small section of the statue he was carving.  
After they'd all introduced themselves, Chris gushing over Ambrose's Italian accent and Anita admiring his Italian looks with sideways glances he showed them the 4 completed statues he had under dust sheets, explaining in his dreamy voice his technique with the softer stones and trying not to come over too excited or hopeful about getting some floor space in the well renowned gallery.  
"And this one?" Sarah asked turning from the beautiful finished statues back to the one he was working on. The woman sat draped on a pillar, her dress hanging in delicate waves like silk, and taffeta, tiny delicate hints of lace and embroidery artfully added in the carving, covering just the right amount of flesh and leaving the rest to the viewers imagination. The only thing she was missing was a face.  
"Alas she will not be ready for a long time I think. I loose my muse." Ambrose confessed sitting down heavily on his own stool to contemplate the work before him. "she es the embodiment of hope and beauty, yet I can not see er face. Yet I look at you Miss Sarah and see what my mind can not see for eself. Please, let me take photos of you as my inspeeration. You are perfetto!" He gasped looking up and actually looking at Sarah for the first time.  
"No I'm sure there must so many young women at the university you could use…" She protested backing away from him slightly in shock. "Really, you don't have to try and please us like that, I'm sure Chris would still be delighted to help you showcase your other finished pieces." She gave up as both Chris and Anita wholeheartedly agreed with Ambrose who was already rummaging for his camera in delight.  
"Hush darling, hes right, you are perfect." Chris preened as though he was entirely responsible for this fact. Anita quickly dragged a hairbrush through Sarahs waist long locks and reapplied foundation and blusher before Ambrose returned brandishing his camera.  
"Please, here, in ze sunlight if you could." He begged with puppy dog eyes as he fussed with her position and lighting for a moment before regarding her steadily. "Think of your true love and smile" He cooed clicking again and again as he moved around her trying to get all angles. "perfetto bellissimo!" Sarah internally groaned as in her head she could see Jareth smirking in his typical fashion at her attempts to model.

20 minutes later, feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the sudden attention and compliments Sarah had promised to return the following Monday to sit for Ambrose whilst Chris positively beamed in delight over having such a talented and sexy hunk to coddle in the gallery.  
"I insist we celebrate!" Anita told them both firmly as they drove over to a quiet restaurant, ordering them all a stiff whisky apiece as they sat themselves down in a corner.  
"What are we celebrating?" Sarah asked confused as she took her coat off and made herself comfortable.  
"Life in perfection." Chris snorted, downing his whisky in one saluting them with his empty glass as he grinned evilly.  
"No lets drink to having no wool pulled over Sarahs eyes" Anita laughed then scowled as she realised Chris had already swigged back his.  
"You two are hopeless. Let's drink to fate, being capricious and my boyfriend being a dick." Sarah giggled downing her own at the same time.  
"I'll definitely drink to that!" Ordering a second round Chris turned to the menu and proceeded to inform them that there would be no calorie watching as he eyed up the delicate steak another customer had just been presented with.  
"I think I want one of those." He murmured practically drooling.  
"I'll be right back, order for me!" Sarah chimed edging her way past Anita who giggled.  
"You sure that's wise?" She called after her.  
In the ladies loo Sarah stood and looked at her flushed reflection critically. What did they see that she didn't? Washing her hands and trying to calm down from the euphoria of the morning she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased and flattered, it was so rare for her to get a compliment of any kind. As she looked back up into the mirror she frowned.  
"It is not in my nature to apologise Sarah." He said quietly in her ear. "However my… abrupt departure was.."  
"Abrupt and typical." She finished for him turning from the mirror to face him directly half expecting him to not be there. She flinched as he traced a gloved finger across her brow, moving away a lock of hair from her eyes.  
"I broke your mug. A replacement set should be at home. I AM sorry I could not come sooner. Duty. I would not have left otherwise, certainly not with our discussion the way it was." He watched her as she turned her face away from his hand.  
"It doesn't matter." She sighed reaching for a paper towel.  
"It does. It also matters that you think you are unequal to the compliments you have been given, which is ridiculous. He will never…" Jareth left his statement unfinished as she looked up at him, fathomless depths of sadness reflected in green orbs before she grabbed her bag and pushed her way past him from the toilets leaving him standing there.  
Reaching the table and sitting back down she desperately tried to recapture her lost euphoria, instead sliding back into gloom and a sense of loss, trying in vain to decipher the look he had given her.

They eventually made it back to the gallery mid afternoon to find chaos as Cassandra and Olly had both in the mean time decided to completely rearrange everything for the opening the following night. Martin was stoic as he helped Sarah move all the tables again and unpack the boxes of champagne glasses.  
"You know hes running roughshod over you Sarah. Its not any of my business I know, but the rest of us notice." He said quietly as Sarah handed him another glass to wipe over. She stood and stared blankly at the wall for a moment before sighing.  
"I know. I think something's going to snap, and I can't let it be me." She smile wanly at him and opened another box.  
"Keep your pecker up chick."  
"Have you been talking to Chris?" Sarah laughed at his choice of words.  
"No and yes. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to find the right moment to confront it directly, with witnesses." Martin hummed to himself lining up the champagne bottles with all their labels facing out.  
"Only if such a moment presented itself."  
"There will be people around to know. Don't you worry your pretty head Sarah." He replied with a mysterious smile for his employer before he strolled off to take the empty boxes back to the store room. With another sigh Sarah went to the far end of the gallery to reluctantly take down her own paintings, the old back room hadn't been painted but at least she could still hang them up again rather than having to pack them away. Chris was right, it was her gallery, she should at the very least be able to display her own artwork. Even if it wasn't for sale. Taking down one of her larger canvases she struggled with it into the back room to find Chris and Anita giggling in the doorway.

"If its illegal I don't want to know." Sarah groused. "Here, hang this in there for me would you?" She said handing Chris the canvas before turning away to go and collect the others, Anita following her to help.  
"Did Martin speak to you?"  
"He did and whatever you lot are cooking up just be damn careful nobody else catches wind of it, and for god sake don't let Chris cause a scene in front of everyone. It's the last thing the gallery needs."  
"Stop chewing your lip."  
"Can't help it I'm stressed." Anita put down the painting she was holding and hugged her friend.  
"It will be ok, I'm sure it will. Martin and Chris won't let him carry on treating you like this, and lets be honest, the gallery doesn't need "art" like that to be successful." Anita grinned wickedly as she turned Sarah around and pointed at a rather ghastly pink abstract that looked rather like several pigs having a good time. Sarah laughed.  
"Don't be naughty. Here take this to Chris as well and I'll take down the last of these big pieces." Sarah stood and glared at the oil painting on the wall which she'd completed last year of the Goblin King in repose on his throne, a pensive look on his charismatic face as he studied a book in his leather clad hand. In her mind she could hear the murmuring of the Labyrinth around him, the scurrying of goblins and a faint memory of old summer days and ancient magic. It was not something she could put into her paintings, but she tried none the less.  
"Its your fault." She told the painting before reaching up and carefully unhooking it from the wall. Quickly she took down the other 2 either side of the first and carried them all to the back room where Anita took them off her at the door.  
"Chris says theres no point trying to squeeze in because he has the ladders out across the door. May as well leave him to it and move Mrs P's murals over from the long room. Then you have to go pick up the new brochures from the printers."  
"No need, Martin got them before." Sarah said taking her blackberry out and marking off things on her to do list.

Together they manhandled Mrs P's huge set of murals to where Sarah's paintings had been hung, leaving them for Chris to re-hang once he'd finished with Sarahs in the back room.  
"I hate having to muddle everything around like this just to please his new client." Sarah sighed again, nursing a gash on her finger from a hang nail in the back of a canvas she'd just moved.  
By 9pm the gallery was as perfect as they could manage until Cassandra arrived in the morning with the rest of her artwork to be hung in the main gallery area around the glass stairs to the upper floor. With as good a grace as she could manage Sarah retired to her office so that Anita could brush the floors again and try and get on with some of her paperwork which seemed to breed and create new piles all on its own.  
The mundane data entry to accounts and filing restored Sarah's equilibrium and it was gone 11pm before she even noticed the time. Anita, Chris and Martin had all during that time popped in to say good night, Martin with a reminder to lock the window in her office before she went home herself. A jaw cracking yawn made her stop and tidy her desk before reluctantly heading out the office, locking the window with a smile before setting the alarm and checking the main door was properly locked. She scurried through the underground parking lot to her car trying not to be creeped out by the dark corners and shadows that seemed to move on their own.


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

The apartment was silent, oppressive, and terrifyingly lonely. In a sudden panic Sarah turned every lamp and light on in the lounge and kitchen, pausing to examine the set of 4 coffee mugs sat on the dining table. A small wild flower propped in one of them. She picked the flower up and went and sat on the couch, inhaling its faint scent before making a quick study of it in the sketchbook that lay on the couch next to her. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest as the door swung open and Ollie followed by Cassandra swept into the room, filling it with their laughter and talk. Hastily hiding the sketchbook under a pile of newspapers Sarah stood up glaring at him as he threw his overcoat on the back of a chair and headed into the kitchen.  
"Sarah." Cassandra smiled walking over and patting her arm like she was a pet dog. "You closed up early, Ollie and I were going to pop in and check things over for tomorrow."  
"Some of us have to sleep Cassandra." Sarah muttered turning away to go and close the soft drapes over the windows.  
"Champagne Cassandra?" Ollie came out of the kitchen clutching Sarah's last remaining bottle from the depths of the fridge.  
"Oh no darling I couldn't possibly, just a coffee for me thanks." She replied spreading herself out in Sarah's vacated spot. "What an ugly flower." She cooed reaching over before Sarah could stop her to pick the flower up off the table. "Wherever do you get all these silly things to paint?" She laughed again as Sarah firmly took it out of her hands before she could maul it to death.  
"I happen to find it quite worthy of being painted thank you Cassandra."  
"Ahh well, not all of us can be successful my dear." Cassandra replied smiling up at Ollie as he came out the kitchen holding mugs of coffee for them, ignoring the fact he hadn't bothered asking Sarah if she wanted anything. Sarah resisted the urge to throttle Cassandra who had conveniently forgotten that it was in fact Sarah's own gallery who was making Cassandra more "famous" or "infamous".  
"Do us a favour Sarah, go and get something to eat, I'm suddenly hungry." He said turning the TV on. Sarah stood there and ground her teeth together.  
"I was just about to go to bed. Its past midnight and I need to be in the gallery early. Like you."  
"Stop pouting its not that late." Ollie finally looked up at her and for once saw that she was not going to give in to him. On examination he discovered that she looked different somehow, but couldn't be bothered to work out what it was that had actually changed. He turned back to Cassandra and began to talk about the exhibition like he owned the gallery. Sarah went and took refuge in the kitchen, automatically tidying up after him and placing the flower in a glass of water. Knowing she was beginning to get a headache she reached for the draw to get the pain killers, pausing as Ollie walked in and brushed himself up against her.  
"Doll I've told Cass she can stay here tonight, can I give her some of your PJ's, she's not brought anything with her and I'm too pissed to take her home. You should have something that will be small enough for her." He said nuzzling Sarah's neck, pinning her against the cupboards. Sarah held her breath and closed her eyes. Damn him straight to hell. He smelt of Cassandra, but when he touched her she felt a desperate need to be held, to be loved and couldn't say no.  
"I guess." She sighed finally as he grinned at her and gave her a peck on the cheek before walking out. She stood numb at the kitchen sink, the cold water running as she cursed him a thousand times in her head for implying she was fatter than Cassandra before downing the pain killers, wondering if they would even notice if she overdosed right here. Turning the tap off she noticed the cut on her finger was bleeding again and rummaged to find a plaster. When she couldn't find one she settled for a piece of kitchen towel and ventured back out into the lounge. Cassandra was giggling over the silk negligee Ollie was telling her he had bought for Sarah but since it didn't fit Cassandra should wear it instead. Feeling humiliated and a stranger in her own home Sarah bid them good night and left them to it, locking her bedroom door in the process. She'd be damned if she was going to let him stay in her bed tonight.  
She undressed in the dark with only a sliver of moonlight to light her room and hesitantly looked at herself in the full length mirror hidden in one of the doors of her built in wardrobe. She stood there and watched as tears of shame burnt her cheeks. She was thinner than Cassandra, but he would never notice, she vowed to take up the diet again and closed the door on her sad reflection before putting a large t-shirt on to hide herself. She lay in her cold bed and watched clouds scudding across the quarter moon listening to them laughing, and eventually opening and closing doors, then silence. She knew they were in the spare room, no doubt shagging. The hot tears fell again until the pain killers kicked in and she fell into a dreamless sleep, facing Jareth would have completed her misery but he never appeared and she woke in the morning feeling wretched and heavy.

The shower was hot and the tiles on the floor cold as Sarah stepped out and grabbed a towel from the rack, displacing Gob who scuttled off to the sink muttering.  
"What are you doing here?" She demanded covering herself up.  
"Ungry."  
"Doesn't his Majesty ever feed you?" Gob frowned over this question and obliquely moved out the way as Sarah reached over him for her toothbrush and the toothpaste.  
"Not 'is job. Kingy too busy." Gob tried the toothpaste and spat it right out again. "Ugh. Not nice."  
"You're not supposed to eat it."  
"Why yer stick it in yer mouf den?"  
"To clean my teeth." Sarah replied flashing her teeth at him. The goblin stood there thoughtfully then opened his mouth to return the favour. Sarah stared. The goblin, considering his size could open his mouth to vast proportions showing not 1 but 2 rows of spiky piranha like teeth. "Urm. Very nice."  
"Fanks. Still ungry."  
"Let me get dressed." Running her fingers through her wet hair Sarah rummaged for clean underwear and a plain neat business suit. Thinking she might not have time to return before the evening she also got out a black calf length loose fitting dress to take with her. Venturing from the bedroom she was deeply relieved to find everything still quiet, though considering it was only 6.30am she was also equally unsurprised that this was the case. She made toast and coffee and buttered a slice for Gob adding a large dollop of strawberry jam for him. He took the proffered slice and chewed slowly trying not to make crumbs on her table.  
"Red stuff tastes good. Got more?" He asked shuffling towards the jar with a hopeful look. Sarah indulged him and gave him a spoon.  
"You'll have to tell his Majesty he owes me a jar of strawberry jam." She said watching as Gob seemed to instantly get jam everywhere as he turned the jar on its side to get better access. "Stay here, I'll be back in a moment." The goblin looked at her through the glass jar and waved a sticky claw.

She hastily dried her hair grateful it preferred being straight and shiny rather than the mess it used to be when she was younger and applied a dash of makeup to try and improve her bloodshot eyes and pallid cheeks. Giving it up as a bad lot she threw some bits into a carryall and folded the dress on top. Finding her "posh" shoes she slipped them on and went back out to the living area. Gob was licking his claws. The jar was completely empty. Tidying away she downed the rest of her coffee before telling the goblin to scoot.  
"Don't come back here tonight, if there are other people around." She told him as he nodded and disappeared with a pop and a faint hint of glitter.

The crystal glittered in his hand, casting tiny spots of morning light across the room as he slouched in his throne. Inwardly, despite his relaxed position he was in turmoil, mulling over again and again the few conversations he had had with her. Don't say her name a voice in his head whispered. If you say her name it will draw her attention, and you don't want that. They said the same about himself, lest his wrath at being distracted by hearing his name on the wind be directed at them. Yet as he watched her walking through autumns golden mantle in the park by the gallery he couldn't resist.  
"Sarah."

The wind teased her, messing her hair and pulling at her coat as she tried to dial the number on her phone with chilled fingers and startled as she heard somebody call her name from a distance she slammed the phone shut and turned, expecting Chris or Anita to be seen hurrying up to her as she took a 5 minute breather in the park. Yet the park was empty. She reluctantly turned back to the phone and redialled the cancelled number, glancing around her impatient to have the conversation over and done with.  
"Hello this is Grangefield Doctors Surgery how can I help?" Said a pleasant sounding young man at the other end of the line.  
"Oh, hello, I'd like to make an appointment please." She mumbled, her face flushing.  
"Certainly Miss…"  
"Williams. Sarah Williams."  
"Miss Williams, Dr Blake has an appointment free at 14.00 today if that's convenient?"  
"No, not today, I'm sorry I should have said. Tomorrow perhaps?" Sarah replied trying to gather her thoughts.  
"That's fine, there's a slot free at 11.00 if that is better."  
"Yes. Thank you that will be fine."  
"It's a pleasure, see you tomorrow."  
She stood in the middle of the path listening to the dial tone from her phone before mentally kicking herself and turning it off, stuffing it back into her pocket.


	7. Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

Trudging back to the gallery she unconsciously ran her fingers over her scar again and again; it had gone from itching to a constant ache, a reminder she didn't need. Around the silver line with the pinpricks of shining sand when she caught it in the right light the rest of her palm was looking redder and redder, and if she looked closely she could see the faintest red lines running out across her hand from the scar. It frightened her.  
She jumped as Anita appeared next to her in the doorway Martin opened and smiled guiltily.  
"You need to take some Valium or something." Anita said handing her a sheaf of papers to sign. "You look done in. What happened last night?"  
"They turned up after midnight, he told Cassandra she was welcome to stay then gave her the birthday present he had bought for me telling her I was too fat to wear it. I guess they spent the rest of the night shagging in the spare room." Sarah shrugged leaving Anita speechless at the bottom of the stairs as she made her way up to the office.  
"He is such a bastard." Anita muttered to Martin who had also heard Sarahs comments.  
"Give them enough rope.." He remarked turning away also to open the door for a delivery man.  
Sat in the coffee room upstairs Ollie was laughing at something Cassandra was telling him, her hand on his arm as they giggled together. Trying desperately to ignore them Sarah headed straight into her office and slammed the door. Pausing briefly to drop the papers on her overflowing desk she walked over to the window, opening it to try and get some fresh air feeling sick. The door slammed behind her and she flinched again turning away to see who it was.

"What the fuck is up with you?" He said walking up to her, his hands on his hips.  
"I'm sorry?" She frowned backing up a little.  
"Get over whatever tantrum it is you are having and act like you should be doing. Cassandra thinks you are cramping her style with your muttering and slamming doors and I agree with her. If you are going to act like this tonight you can sod off home and let the rest of us run it." He said spitefully. He glared at her as she stood in shock, not saying anything.  
"Go and put some bloody makeup on as well, you look like shit. How am I supposed to …" He was interrupted by Chris walking in with a cup of coffee for Sarah and another batch of flyers for upcoming releases she had to pass off. Sarah let out the breath she had been holding and thanked Chris for the coffee, sitting down at the large table to look through the flyer proofs with him, ignoring Ollie who glared daggers at Chris and stalked out, slamming the door again behind him.  
Chris sat there as he watched Sarah dissolve, shaking her head as tears fell unheeded.  
"I'm so sorry." She whispered to him after she'd gotten a hold of herself gratefully taking the tissue he offered her to wipe her face. Her hand throbbed in pain along with the headache she had developed. "Please don't tell the others."  
"I think they all heard regardless. Cassandra was laughing the bitch. Don't worry my love, its not for too long then you can tell both of them to shove it." He watched as her eyes dulled in pain and loss at his words. "Keep smiling precious one! It will be alright on the night." He grinned and again watched her eyes flicker at his words. Chris loved a mystery, and Sarah was a mystery and a half.  
"Come, everything is all spick and span and we are only waiting on Catsknickers to decide where she wants those last pieces of 'art' come and have a drink."  
Sarah grimaced at Chris's name for Cassandra but meekly followed him from her office smiling softly as he linked her arm through his as they walked down the glass stairs.  
"You know... If I wasn't hopelessly in love with your goblin king I'd demand you marry me." Chris laughed as Sarah choked at his outrageous statement punching him in the arm.  
"Behave yourself." She grinned "You don't need a goblin king to make you a queen."  
"Entirely my point darling. I'd be the perfect accessory." Sarah laughed, she couldn't help it, the thought of Jareth and Chris being partners was perfectly insane given Jareth's ego and opinion of himself, not to mention he would have a royal hissy fit if Chris stole his leather pants. The vision of a semi naked goblin king demanding his pants back made her blush.  
"Ho ho! What is this? What on earth have you been saying to make Sarah blush like that?" Anita grinned from behind the main information counter in the corner.  
"If I gave away all my secrets however would I be able to surprise you?" Chris said walking on past her into the main gallery space making sure he avoided the spiky installation. Sarah stopped and rolled her eyes at Anita.  
"Don't give him the benefit of seeing you upset. Here go stick some of these in and put some of this on." Anita whispered rummaging in her bag before passing over a small bottle of eye drops and a tube of lip gloss.

Sarah sighed and made her way to the ladies hating having to look at her pale face and reddened eyes in the mirror. Ducking down she turned the cold water tap on before dunking her hands in and covering her face. The freezing water made her gasp but at least refreshed her. Struggling to put the eye drops in she almost blinded herself as she looked back in the mirror to see him standing behind her. Choking back an oath and grabbing a paper towel to mop up her streaming eye she turned and glared at him with the other one.  
"Must you always appear in the ladies?" she watched incredulous as Jareth turned and looked around their surroundings before shrugging. "To what do I owe the unpleasure your majesty?" she sighed in the silence.  
"Our conversation is not finished."  
"No it's not, but it's also not going to take place here and now. I have too much to do to be worrying about having an argument with you."  
"Who said there would be arguing?" Sarah took the paper towel from her face and stared at him blankly as he spoke. "Fair enough, I concede that there may be arguing."  
"Is that everything?" She asked exasperated.  
"I have a gift for you."  
"No. No gifts, no bargains, no promises, no crystal dreams Jareth. I..."  
"No, no bargains. This gift has a price, but for a girl like you it is a small thing indeed." He smirked, ignoring the way she whispered his name.  
"How can a gift be a gift if it has a price?"  
"Everything has a price precious. You of all people should know that. Would you like it?"  
"Do I look that stupid? You have my dreams already what is the price this time?" She shut her mouth before she blurted out something utterly ridiculous and watched him frown.  
"I will not offer this again. Take it or leave it."  
"What is the price?" Something inside her screamed at her to run and hide, to ask no questions and make no bargains. By asking the price she had agreed to the gift. Jareth stood in front of her and grinned then in the blink of an eye captured her face in his hands, before she could pull away he leant down and kissed her. It was a soft, lazy, teasing kiss that left her breathless as he broke away, a satisfied smirk replacing the grin. Leaning back against the door and folding his arms he waited for her to gather her scattered wits.  
"Was that the gift or the price?" She eventually whispered not looking at him.  
"That is for you to decide. Good day precious." When she looked up he was gone.  
"Of all the infuriating..." She turned back to the mirror and leaning closer to it applied the lip-gloss over her still tingling lips before realising that her red swollen eyes were no longer red and swollen. Forest green eyes regarded her from the mirror, flecks of gold making them shine, and where his fingers had touched her cheeks a soft blush made her skin glow. She walked out of the loos at a loss for words, his capriciousness leaving her confused. She didn't even notice Ollie staring at her like she was a different person.

Anita giggled at her as Sarah handed back the eye drops and gloss.  
"I should get more of this stuff if that's the effect it has!"  
"I'm going out for an hour. Is it ok if I drag Chris with me? I need a dress or something for tonight." Sarah asked, suddenly feeling pretty for the first time in months. She knew it was just a glamour, and that like all magic it would fade in time, but she was not going to waste this gift.  
"Sure take your time I'll hold the fort. Ollie can get his arse in gear and help if it gets busy." Anita grinned shooing Sarah away.  
Walking over into the beautiful gallery space always made her smile, the clean white walls and perfectly positioned windows and lighting in the neoclassical designed room was perfect for displaying artwork between the onyx black columns standing against the walls. At the far end above the pair of tall windows was a freeze of trompe l'oeil decoration work a friend from university had painted for her when she had first purchased the building with the help of her mother's legacy. Standing under the windows stood Cassandra berating Chris for dropping a pile of exhibition catalogues on her toe in a voice any fishwife would be proud of. Chris merely shrugged and walked away from her in mid flow back towards Sarah who flicked her hair out her face, in a long standing code sign for 'help me please'.  
"We are going out for an hour, get your coat you've pulled." She said as he sidled up to her. "Get mine whilst you are up there would you?"  
"Oh goodie. I'll be right back." He said trotting off.  
"What the fuck are you doing going out now? There's still the rest of Cassandra's paintings to hang!" Ollie spat from behind her. Taking a deep breath Sarah turned and smiled sweetly.  
"And as she is your client I shall leave organising where she wants them in your capable hands. You wouldn't want your girlfriend to look anything other than her best tonight would you?'  
"Why can't you wear one of your other dresses? Or don't they fit any more?"  
"When I need clothing advice from you I'll ask. In the mean time your boss would like you to do what you are paid for." She told him flatly.  
"I'm not sure what the hell you are up to Sarah but it's not going to wash. Whatever this thing is end it. Don't forget who you are talking to. Without me you are nothing." He whispered pulling her closer and digging his fingers into the soft flesh inside her arm and wrapping his other hand around her neck in what looked like to all intents and purposes like an embrace making her wince in pain.  
"Why can't you for once just act like you honestly cared for me? Why do you have to make me feel like shit when you bring other women into my home? Our home? What happened to all your promises?" She whispered as he released her arm but kept her held close. She looked up into brown eyes she had once been so sure she loved and saw nothing but contempt in them.  
"You got boring." He replied maliciously before capturing her lips in a crushing kiss. Before she could do anything he had bitten the inside of her lip drawing blood. "That's for giving me attitude, we'll talk about it more later. In private." He snarled in her ear finally releasing her.  
Feeling numb she smiled at him and kissed his cheek leaving a blood stained glossy patch before waving to Cassandra who stood still fuming at the other end of the room. She could be a bitch too, and all the while in her head all she could hear was Jareth's mocking voice.  
Damn you Jareth, and damn me too. She cried in her mind keeping her smile firmly fixed on her face as she collected Chris and her coat before walking out into the wind.

In another world a king swore vengeance on a mortal man, scattering objects from his desk across the polished floor in a wrath his subjects had not seen for many a year. They fled in fear from his anger and cowered as the heart of the labyrinth twisted and screamed in agony.

Hours or days later the same King stood in the dark world that was his labyrinth, the sky lit by lightning regarding a stain on a stone at the foot of a set of steps. The large stone had cracked clean in half, and from the crack grew a rose bush. The rose bush had grown at a staggering rate, appearing almost instantly the moment he had left this place. It grew up the wall with green questing fingers and had subsequently flowered glowing white roses which made the delicate vines droop from their weight. Around the section of wall, and the rose bush lay chaos. The Labyrinth in this quarter had been flattened into rubble. Jareth leaned against the remaining section of wall, his hair tangling with the thorns in the capricious wind and breathed in the scent of roses.  
The very existence of this plant troubled him greatly, as did the now dry blood stain from where it grew. In his head he reviewed laws, edicts, rules. Blood was a token, a gift, taken by force or given freely. It meant power, and this blood was different. It was mortal not fae, it should not have anything other than the most faintest traces, yet this blood was hers, and she held more power than he had ever seen in a mortal for a millennia. She had sat here for hours, cut by something from the labyrinth, bleeding directly onto the very labyrinth itself, and stone remembered. He waved a hand negligently and around the broken steps and section of wall grew a courtyard walled in white grey stone, no doors or passageways. Better to keep it hidden for now he muttered to himself before stepping away into nothingness. The walls and passageways continued to grow from the destruction, the labyrinth recreating itself as it always did. The roses remained silent, shining faintly and growing in the unnatural light.


	8. Chapter 8

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

Sarah stood in the shadows watching the guests arriving in their finery, it reminded her comically of a great ball where all the players were pretending to be other than what they really were. High pitched laughter from Cassandra across the other side of the room made her wince before the soft orchestral music from the stereo system managed to reassert itself. They had arrived back to the gallery to find chaos, Cassandra had thrown a last minute wobbler and had demanded several changes, meaning that Sarah's own artwork had once again been taken down and hidden in her office apart from 3 small pieces in the back room, dwarfed by Mrs P's murals. In the disorder one of the large canvasses had been torn, probably by Ollie in retribution for her speaking to him earlier. Sarah was gutted, she'd worked for weeks on the oil and was quite fond of it. She'd have to take it home and try and repair it somehow.  
"Are you going to stand here all night?" Sarah gasped and turned to find Chris standing behind her with 2 glasses of champagne, one of which he handed her. "You look beautiful, don't let catsknickers take all the limelight, its your gallery." Sarah frowned sipping the champagne watching Cassandra shrewdly. The woman was dressed in what could only be described as a meringue. The red dress clashed horribly with Ollie's dark blue suit and tie, and whilst she had obviously gone to some effort for tonight the result was stunning, in all the wrong ways. Sarah unconsciously smoothed her own dress, classic black, floor length with v neckline showing a tiny bit of cleavage and a side split to show off her long legs. Anita had done wonders with her hair as usual putting half of it in elaborate braids twisted around the crown of her head leaving tempting tendrils down her back. Jareth's spell seemed to still be working; she only wished she felt as good as Chris and Anita had told her she looked. If only Ollie could care less to tell her the same, though she had heard him complimenting Cassandra outrageously earlier in the evening. She followed Chris from the darkened corner and plastered a polite smile on her face as she began to mingle. Names and faces blurred in her vision but she mentally damped down on her nausea and made small talk with admiring posh folk as they learnt from Chris she was the owner of the gallery.  
"We are of course very pleased to have Miss Harper exhibiting here. In fact we have another launch party booked in 2 months as well to introduce another young artist and sculptor."  
"Sculpture you say, what kind of sculptures?" Asked an aged lady wearing cerise, her champagne glass wearing more lipstick than the woman.  
"Classical, Grecian inspired for the most part. They are a delight I assure you. We'd be delighted to have you come along for the launch Lady Prescott."  
"Send the details to my aide Miss Williams, I have a great interest in the classical arts. None of this namby pamby modern stuff." The old lady nodded before waddling off to get her glass refilled.  
"Nicely added." Chris remarked smirking as he walked past behind her adding a note to his list.

"I'd like to have Ambrose's launch twice as good as this. Is that evil of me?" Sarah grinned at Chris as he looked over his notepad at her. He gave her a slow wink before turning to interrupt another group of people to introduce Sarah to them.  
As the evening wore to a close Sarah found herself again in close proximity to Catsknickers. Mentally she chided herself for using Chris' nickname, but unfortunately, it fit. She was giggling and hanging on To Ollie's arm as she flirted wildly with an old gentleman who's wife looked as furious as Ollie at her behaviour. Sarah rolled her eyes.  
"Sorry to interrupt Mr and Mrs Hawkins, I must borrow Ollie from you for a moment." She said touching Mrs Hawkins on the arm in sympathy. The woman looked relieved as both Cassandra and Ollie turned away from them allowing the poor woman to make an escape, dragging her husband away.  
"Shop talk Cassandra, won't take a moment." Sarah smiled through gritted teeth as she managed to deposit the foul woman on a handy chair. Ollie followed her up the stairs taking a moment to fondle her ass which made Sarah cringe.  
"You should start that diet again Sarah, don't want you going completely to seed before you're 40." He said as they entered her office ignoring her glare.  
"To business gentlemen and lady, I just wanted a review of sales you've made tonight before we have to go through them tomorrow." Sarah said turning to face Ollie, Chris, Anita and the other 2 sales reps they employed for launches. Silence eschewed and Sarah waited, a small part of her feeling extremely smug that they had sold nothing of Cassandras rather mediocre work. She let Ollie sweat a few more minutes.  
"Nothing. You've sold nothing between all of you?" She asked finally.  
"I have a few leads." Ollie said defensively.  
"Unless those leads have dollar signs on them in blood I'm not interested. This launch party has cost this gallery over $2500 dollars, and sales are needed in order to cover our costs if nothing else.  
"I sold one of Mrs P's murals." Piped up Dominic from the end of the row earning a look of daggers from Ollie.  
"Anything else sold not Cassandra's?" Sarah asked again a little impressed Dom had managed to sell one of the huge murals which would free up some more room. Mrs P would be delighted.  
"I sold 4 prints from Roberts landscape collection. I didn't think we were counting those." Anita confessed.  
"Better than nothing though I am disappointed about not selling anything of Catsk Cassandra's." Sarah sighed automatically correcting herself. "Lets call it a day then, try and get at least 1 sale before everyone goes home else she will be crushed." She said sitting down at her desk in a sign of dismissal.

Annoyed she found Ollie still stood watching her as Dom closed the door behind them. She leant back and watched him watching her.  
"That dress suits you." He said sliding round the edge of the desk like a snake uncoiling.  
"Don't change the subject." She said sighing again. "It was a mistake to bring her to the gallery Ollie. Why the hell you fell for her asslicking I don't know but what I do know is we are out of pocket right when we seriously can't afford to be. I need sales to keep this place running else we're all going to be out of a job. We can't keep running artists who just aren't going to give us any returns."  
"She told me she was good."  
"They all tell you they are good."  
"You told me you were good."  
"I am good." She knew where this conversation was heading, every time she realised with a feeling of horror. He wheedled, he plied her with compliments then when she relented he dropped her like a brick.  
"You'd better go and sort her out, she's drunk. Don't take her back to the apartment tonight."  
"I'll drop her off at her place. You know Sarah things could be so different between us."  
"This is not the time or place. We talked about this. You told me you'd wait. You promised."  
"Waiting is hard with you Sarah. You try my patience."  
"I can't be anything other than me Ollie. I've never given promises I can't keep."  
He grunted and pulled her from her chair; kissing her deeply whilst undoing the zip of her dress so he could caress her back giving her goosebumps from his cool hands.  
"I'm tired of fighting with you, I wanted this to be good for both of us." She said struggling to release herself from his grasp.  
"Then you know what I want."  
"No. Go. I don't want to talk about this now." She said pushing him away from her.

The crystal ball smashed into a billion motes of glitter on the polished marble floor of the throne room as Jareth sat back in his throne speechless.  
"Well I never." He said before throwing his head back and laughing.


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

"I'm going to bunk on you. Do you mind? I feel utterly shattered." Sarah whispered to Chris as they watched Ollie struggling with a very drunk Cassandra trying to get her into the car outside the gallery.  
"Sure Petal, go right ahead. We'll sort things out here and do all the cleaning in the morning if that's ok?" Chris said giving her a squeeze.  
"That's fine, I'll be in early to help. Thanks Chris I owe you guys." Sarah smiled in relief. Making her way hastily to her office she picked up the torn oil painting and her coat before hastily making her way out the rear entrance of the gallery and into the safety of her car; where she found Gob playing with a box of tissues on the back seat. The goblin had covered the car in bits of tissue and was attacking the empty box with abandon. He bounced into the front seat as she started the car, too tired to bother reprimanding him.  
"Tidy this up before you leave." She said throwing a handful of tissue at him before driving out the car park.  
"Ungry! Got bored waitin." He mumbled beneath the tissues.  
"You're always hungry Gob."  
"Yup." Gob replied happily as he watched the cars go past, his nose pressed to the window like a dog.  
He chattered to her the entire way home, an unceasing monologue of goblin antics which kept her mind off everything else.  
"And the King? What does he think of your pranks?"  
"Kingy don't care no more. Hes boring."  
"Boring?"  
"Yer he sits and sulks all day in the dark. No fun." Sarah smirked to herself at Gobs response.  
"He probably sulks because he has goblins for subjects." She teased.  
"Nah he sulks because of you." Gob said without a pause, bringing Sarah back down with a bump.  
"Because of me?"  
"Yup. Kingy real mad about the Labby. Not happy for a long time. We eat jam when we get to your house? Gob told the uvvers about the sticky stuff an they wanna tell Kingy to get em some but Gob gets it off you faster."  
"We'll see." Sarah replied taking the canvas out of the boot of the car and carrying it carefully into the lift with Gob trotting behind her.  
"Funny box." He said pressing all the floor buttons making Sarah groan.  
"We only need floor six."  
"Wots six?"  
"One more than five. How many fingers have you got?"  
"Got dis many." He said holding out his tiny hands revealing small clawed fingers.  
"You have six fingers and 2 thumbs." She said pointing to his fingers and thumbs in turn.  
"Six." Gob nodded looking at his hands. "Six enough to get jam out of jar." He said matter-of-factly.

Finally reaching her floor at the top of the building she managed to get both Gob and the painting safely into her apartment without further hindrance. With a sigh she kicked off her high heals by the door and carefully put the painting in her studio out the way. Walking past the phone she hit the message service button when she noticed it flashing. She groaned as she heard Toby's dulcet tones telling her he would be over tomorrow. She'd forgotten she would have to wait for him before going to the gallery to help clean up.  
"Shit." The second message was equally as surprising. Ollie saying he was staying with Cassandra because she was so drunk and he wouldn't be back. The surprising thing being that he actually bothered to let her know.  
"Gob, if I promise to feed you after, can you go and tell Toby I need to be in the Gallery early, so he will need to go there not here?" The goblin nodded happily and popped off leaving a small flurry of glitter on her dining table. Walking into the kitchen she turned the coffee machine on and started digging in the cupboards to see if she had anything resembling jam. Cracking her head on the countertop she swore, wishing vehemently as she dragged a very dusty jar of blueberry jam from the back of the cupboard that she had never bothered promising the tiny goblin jam.  
"Such language. I thought you'd learnt to be more careful of your wishes Sarah." Jareth purred from the doorway making her yelp. She swore at him some more for scaring her which he rose an eyebrow at, his smirk remaining.  
"Twice in one day Your Majesty, anybody would think you enjoyed my company." She said rubbing her head.  
"Hardly. You are a chore Miss Williams. I came to object about you using my subjects as your personal messaging service."  
"Yet its ok for you?" She retorted without thinking.  
"Surely you've heard of the concept of kings?" He replied sarcastically looking at her like she was a moron.  
"Look it was just a favour. Karen hates it when I call him late." Sarah sighed pouring out two cups off coffee and automatically handing one to him ignoring his look. "Ouch." She winced as her lip stung where Ollie had bitten it as she tried to drink the coffee.  
"And where is ..?" Jareth asked nonchalantly, knowing perfectly well where Ollie was.  
"Cassandra." Sarah muttered touching her lip gingerly to see if it was bleeding. She didn't even see him move but suddenly he was standing in front of her, his presence surrounding her. She watched in fascinated silence as he removed one of his gloves and ran his thumb along her lip, his fingers sliding along her jawline sending tingles down her spine.  
"Please don't…" She whispered as he bent his head to kiss her. He frowned in annoyance before moving away from her and picked his mug of coffee up, walking out into the lounge.  
"I get.. confused, when I am with you." She said from the doorway watching him watching the world from the darkened windows.  
"There should be no confusion Sarah." He replied, his tone conveying his anger. "Few have ever defied me. Fewer have lived to tell the tale."  
"Yet here I am. Living is optional is it?" She walked across the room and stood next to him, pressing her forehead against the cold window watching the glass mist from her hot coffee.  
"Your hand. You still have the scar?" She turned and looked up at him, trying to gauge his mood. She held her hand out to him, showing him her palm and the silvery scar, and the reddened skin around it. Frowning in concern he removed both gloves and took hold of her hand, taking his time to examine the scar. A simple touch from him and once again she was feeling light headed.

"How do you do that?" She asked closing her eyes and leaning against the window in case her legs betrayed her.  
"Magical beings affect mortals with their auras. Some feel the effect more than others." She could feel him running his fingers over the scar. It seemed to react to his touch as much as the rest of her did.  
"Is that why you wear the gloves?" She asked trying to keep her mind straight.  
"One reason." He neglected to tell her that he was equally affected by her own aura which unlike him she could not yet control. Letting go of her hand he put his gloves back on, annoyed with himself for finding yet another excuse to touch her.  
"So, me winning the Labyrinth. That was defying you?"  
"You were never meant to get so far." He groused turning away from her and slumping down into her sofa like it was his throne.  
"Surely other people have won their brothers and sisters back before now?" She asked in fascination.  
"Never. Children are wished away with intent. Not many use a wish as powerful as that out of unselfish reasons."  
"The things you said to me, at the end…"  
"I do not wish to discuss that." He cut her off glaring at her as she sat down opposite him.  
"I'm just trying to understand."  
"You did what should not have been possible. What more is there to understand,"  
"If it should have been impossible, there must be a reason why it wasn't."  
"As I said. This is not open to discussion."

"As you wish Your Majesty." Sarah sighed putting her mug on the table and picking her sketchpad and pencil up instead began to draw him as he brooded.  
"There were many thing said. Some which should not have been, others which should and weren't. The consequences are what concern me now." He said after several minutes listening to her pencil scribbling away on the paper. The pencil stopped as Sarah looked up at him, catching a look of deep anxiety in his eyes.  
"The debt between us. The price." She said. "Seems we both paid heavily." She watched him as his frown deepened.  
"Why didn't you reorder time to before I wished Toby away?"  
"Impossible. Reordering time even a few moments is hard enough. Despite what you might think, I am not a god with unlimited powers." He glared at her as she smiled ruefully and shrugged her shoulders.  
"Sometimes its hard to imagine that you are just a mere fae." She rolled her eyes at him.  
"What makes you think I am Fae?" He looked up at her laughing as she blushed.  
"I just presumed…"  
"You presume a lot."  
"Female prerogative. So if you aren't Fae, and you're not mortal, what are you?"  
"A mystery that will remain unsolved." He smirked looking back out of the windows. He heard her snort before the pencil resumed its soothing strokes across the paper.  
"One day soon we will have to discuss our debt Jareth. Its not something I can leave be. You understand this right? I can't keep living like this, and clearly something is wrong with the Labyrinth. Whether that was my doing or not my life is entwined with it."  
"You are mistaken if you think I do not want this resolving. There is a time and a place for everything. Debts will be repaid in full."  
"As long as you don't bring Toby into this." She warned him.  
"Your brother is ever safe Sarah, you need not worry for him." Jareth frowned again, drawing a crystal from nothingness to shine on the palm of his hand.  
"Even in the above ground?"  
"Wherever he is, his companions will protect him. You have my word."  
"Thank you." She whispered as he rose fluidly from the couch, surprising her as he reached over and took the sketchpad from her hands to inspect her work.  
"You are gifted." He mused flicking through the pages.  
"You flatter me."  
"If the truth is considered flattery Sarah you are in sore need of more truth." He scolded her.  
"If only." He watched her as she sighed. "Ollie tore one of my oils today. I probably won't be able to repair it. His comment; well I don't need to repeat it." She said getting up and walking to the study, bringing the torn oil back out as Gob reappeared on the dining table.

"Done!" he grinned. "Jam now!" Sarah nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, bringing the jar of blueberry jam back out for him.  
"You need to feed them more." She told Jareth leaving Gob on the table delving into the jam.  
"Jam." He rose an eyebrow and shook his head taking the oil from her to inspect the damage. It was a particularly fine piece of himself, lounging on his balcony overlooking the vast backdrop of his Labyrinth. Greens and golds and a subtle hint of fading summer gave the painting an otherworldy feel. Though he was at a loss to know how she knew what his balcony looked like, or what the view was like in high summer. The Labyrinth almost shimmered in the warmth making him smile in remembrance of the old days.  
"I will repair this."  
"If…" Sarah said expecting a bargain.  
"I get to keep it." He smiled as she nodded and passed his hand over the L shaped tear in the lower left corner. He held the painting up to the light to inspect the repair and nodded, satisfied it was perfect. Snapping his fingers the painting disappeared leaving him stood in front of her expectantly.  
"I guess I should thank you, but I think you got the better part of that one." She sulked.  
"Come come, I saved your painting and already it is hung in all its glory in my private gallery. Surely there is no greater desire for an artist than to have their work admired?"  
"I guess." Sarah looked away from him, suddenly feeling awkward again as he stood so close to her. She distracted herself by trying to imagine what his private gallery looked like.  
"More of that truth Sarah?"  
"Just not used to people saying nice things about my stuff." She shrugged, suddenly looking sad.  
"The Labyrinths Champion, yet so modest and shy." He whispered in her ear as she gasped.  
"Champion? What do you mean?"  
"An explanation for another time. I must go."  
"No wait, what is this Champion?" She turned and gasped hold of his arm to stop his leaving. She blushed again as she watched his eyes darken and dropped her hand from his arm.  
"A kiss for an explanation." She said, for once being the instigator in their bargaining. He laughed and shook his head.  
"Kisses only get you so much Precious." He swooped down and captured her in his arms, kissing her breath away all over again before slowly releasing her, caressing her cheek as he did so.  
"My explanation?"  
"Another time."  
"Hey that's not fair!" She shouted as he laughed again and disappeared leaving her standing in a draught of freezing air and glitter that made her shiver. Turning back to her chair she cursed as she realised he had taken her sketchbook as well.  
"That's the last kiss I'll give you like that Goblin King." She muttered heading to bed feeling drunk and happy and scared all at the same time.


	10. Chapter 10

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

It was a dream. She knew it for a dream because she explicitly remembered cleaning her teeth, undressing and climbing into her own bed. She knew more than any other reason that it was a dream, because she only dreamt of the labyrinth, and never because she willed it. Yet she stood, for the second time miles above the Labyrinth perched somewhat precariously on a sundial large enough to walk around on. Next to the 9th numeral behind her grew a weathered tree, its shade cooled her back against the hammer blows of the labyrinths sun in a sky that was the colour of burning copper chloride. The blue was that intense it was almost unreal. More unreal than everything else she mentally amended stepping to the edge of the stone sundial and looking down at the Labyrinth below her. She should have been suffering from vertigo, yet her brain refused to suspend her disbelief that it was just a dream. The labyrinth spread out in all directions like a patchwork. Myriad colours from all the different types of maze contained within. The bold ochre of the endless starting paths and stone walls ended abruptly in hedge mazes and the forbidden forest in red and gold and green. On the edge of the horizon, almost masked by the heat haze lay the dark pitch browns of the bog and beyond that, shimmering lay the goblin city and the spires of the castle. It was hard to imagine this place being real, even harder to imagine she had spent 13 hours trying to reach the center. Yet here, in the otherworldly atmosphere, she had made friends with the most unlikely group of creatures, the Labyrinth had forged her, shown her nothing was impossible in the realms of belief and imagination. It had taught her lessons she had not known she had even needed to learn, and then its king had broken her. She stepped back to the shade of the tree and sank down, leaning back against the trunk.

"If I didn't know you better I would think you were crazy, or obsessed." Jareth muttered sinking down beside her and crossing his leather booted feet.  
"Maybe I'm both." Sarah replied after a moments thought on his statement. "Is this the 'later' you were talking about?"  
"You brought me here, not the other way around." Though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was scowling, and it made her smile.  
"Me summon you? Surely not Your Majesty. I am after all only dreaming, which is your doing not mine since I am unable to dream for myself."  
"There is no such thing as 'only' dreaming Sarah." His voice purred over her name like he was savouring the taste of it. They sat in silence listening to the wind in the branches above them making the leaves sigh and rustle.  
"Memories." Sarah remarked. "All this is just memory." He didn't answer her.  
"What happens when I stop remembering how is was?"  
"It reverts to how it is now."  
"Unreal reality. Are you going to tell me about this 'Labyrinths Champion' You did promise." She turned to face him and studied his profile, her fingers itching to find a piece of paper and a pencil to sketch him.  
"The answer is simple if you put your mind to it. You made it to the center of the Labyrinth, you got the child back, you are only the second to ever have done that. It makes you the Champion."  
"And in the process lost myself in my mind, gave away my dreams and had my entire childhood shattered beyond repair. Champion; an empty title." He finally turned to face her as she spoke so bitterly.  
"It is much more complicated than you naively state."  
"Then explain it to me. I'm not going to stay asleep forever." She clicked her teeth shut as the words escaped her lips and frowned.  
"Not long at all then." He quipped. As if perturbed by her stony glare he rose and paced across the sundial, stopping finally to lean against the brass point gathering his thoughts. She rarely saw his smile any more she mused watching him frown at his thoughts. Unless he was laughing at her her amended.

"Show me how it is now." She said standing up also and walking back to the edge of dial to look down at the view. In a heartbeat the colours seemed to seep away, and the sun lost its warmth as clouds boiled up like an oil slick in water, hiding the blue sky and casting everything in a grey wash. The Labyrinth in the half light crumbled, and the forbidden forest and hedge mazes drew in on themselves, trees shedding their leaves and a sickly miasma began to rise from the rotting foliage. She shivered as she was overcome by the desolation and destruction.  
"My dreams weren't enough."  
"The magic fades. Everything does in the end." Jareth stated fiddling with his gloves, making Sarah look over at him sharply. 3 paces and she stood before him, demanding, haughty, exquisite. He folded his hands to stop himself reaching out to touch her.  
"This is not an explanation." She scowled again growing angry with his reluctance to tell her the truth.  
"As I said, it is harder to explain than you assume." He glared right back at her.  
"Please Jareth. Don't I deserve an explanation?"  
"Deserve? Like I deserve to live in this wasteland?"  
"Poor choice of words, I'm sorry."  
"I had thought you had grown up, but there is still a petulant child in you."  
"I could say the same thing about you!" She spat back turning away from him in anger and frustration.  
"The Labyrinth must have a Champion. This is what happens when it does not." He sighed behind her.  
"What happened to the old Champion?" Sarah asked almost afraid to hear the answer.  
"They were superseded."  
"How?"  
"By you! Such ignorance Sarah I thought you were clever?" His anger made her want to flee, the Labyrinth shuddered as if mirroring his mood.  
"You were its Champion! How could I have... no. Don't answer that, you are right, the answer is plain. I won against you. By choosing to go home I did this." She turned back to him, fear and disbelief written all over her face. "Does this mean I am supposed to be some kind of Goblin Queen?"  
"You think you know the answer, yet it could not be further from the truth. No you are not supposed to be Queen. Foolishness. My title passes to my heirs. Champion. That is all. It is the Labyrinth, not my Kingdom that suffers because of your choices. Did you think my Kingdom would be as small as what you see here?" He alternatively berated her and scoffed at her assumptions.

"I've not even thought about how big your.. realm might be. Certainly it would have to be big considering the size of your ego. You've spent so long never having to explain yourself to others you've forgotten how to. I'm not your subject your Majesty, I'm also not stupid. Thats twice you have insulted me, and you are supposed to be a King. I thought they were supposed to be kind, and compassionate and understanding..." She trailed off realising she sounded like the child he had accused her of being. The thought made her blush in embarrassment.  
"You might find that to be the truth under different circumstances, when my whole world isn't crumbling around my feet. You speak of compassion and understanding. Others would forgive a person for being angry under such circumstances. The Labyrinth is turning in on itself, the world dies because there is no magic, no belief. Its Champion deserted it and left it to fend for itself. Its Champion turned her back on..." He stopped and turned away from her rage making his eyes shine dangerously.  
"How am I supposed to be able to fix this when I can't even fix myself?" Sarah whispered sinking down to the stone clutching her head in her hands.  
"If I knew the answer..." He responded quietly.  
"Stop! Just... just go away Jareth. Leave me alone!" She wept. She knew he went, the desolation seemed worse without him nearby, and the wind in the tree behind her sounded as heartbroken as she felt. She tried re-imagining the Labyrinth whole and lit by the golden sun, but nothing happened no matter how she tried. Eventually she gave up, tears of frustration blurring her sight.  
"I didn't abandon you, you abandoned me!" She screamed into the void. She gave into her grief, her body trembling in the storm of her tears until exhausted and cold she lay numb on the stone not caring if she ever awoke.

He stalked through the castle in a white cold rage. Goblins far from scattering before him took care not to get even in the same quarter of the castle as him. The problem was, he was in more of a rage at himself than he was at her. Reaching his study high in the east tower he sank down in his chair and cursed in several languages. 14 years he had kept his heart hidden away. 14 years nurturing hatred and anger towards the girl who had destroyed everything he had worked so hard to create. Yet now he found himself wanting to please her, to make her smile. Understanding had dawned on him rather profoundly as they had argued in her dream; she was innocent of guilt only because she had simply never understood the consequences of her choices. Had he stopped being a cocky shit when she had first run the Labyrinth things could have been, so different. His traitorous heart told him he was fooling himself if he thought he could turn back time that far.  
"Its never too late." Anyetta said walking cautiously though the door carrying a bottle of wine and glasses on a tray which she placed in front of him. She ignored his glare and poured him a large glass before taking one for herself.  
"You may think things are irreparable, but they rarely are."  
"Have you been spying on me?"  
"No Your Majesty, simply working on instinct. I can see that she fascinates you as much now as she did then." Anyetta smiled and walked out to the balcony to watch the Labyrinths paths darken in the setting of the cloud shrouded sun. She touched the pitted and worn crumbling stone sadly, even here closest to him the decay had set in.  
"All I can say is she'd better be able to change this when alls said and done. Its past time for the rift to be healed."  
"She doesn't know how to. She didn't even know she was Champion. She doesn't know..." He stopped himself before he could say something he would regret.  
"Then you need to teach her. Go to her, no games and ask her to help you fix this." The pretty fae stepped back as Jareth surged to his feet in another fit of anger.  
"I WILL NOT!"  
"Then the Labyrinth, and all of us bound to it will die."  
"She should be... she is. Infuriating. It is impossible to reason with her or to have a civil conversation." He shouted slamming his wine glass down on his desk.  
"I can see how this would cause friction between you, she is at least as stubborn as you Your Majesty. I shall be in my quarters if you have need of me." Anyetta laughed curtsying before leaving him to his anger. The wine glass shattered into a thousand shards against the door behind her.

Her pillow was wet as she woke back to consciousness in the predawn light. The alarm clock on the dresser told her it was 7am as she stared at its display ticking away the seconds. There had been nightmares, but they paled in comparison to the horror of the truth. She didn't want to think about it but a voice in the back of her head would only blame herself for the situation she now found herself in. Vaguely she wondered if she would have ever have found out the fate of the Labyrinth if she had not wished herself away that night with the shard of mirror. The scar on her hand itched as she thought about it. Grimacing she presumed the answer would be no. He was too stubborn and proud to seek her out to fix this. Too angry with her to forgive easily, if ever. That hurt more than knowing the Labyrinth was falling apart because of her actions, though why she dared not reason out. That he blamed her even though she had never understood or known the consequences was unfair to the extreme. He was as much to blame for never explaining as she was for never asking.  
"Now we are both stuck with living in this half life." She whispered before climbing out of bed and heading for the shower.

The astringent smell of the doctors surgery made her want to sneeze, but in the pristine reception area of the private clinic she didn't want to make a sound. Nervously she played with the strap of her bag, waiting for the buzzer over the door on the other side of the room to frighten her to death. The door opened and another patient left, a blank look on their face and clutching a prescription. Sarah sighed, then blushed as she realised her doctor was smiling in a false welcome smile he always put on before he realised who it was.  
"Come on in." He beckoned his smile changing to something much more genuine. "Let me just wash up and I'll be right with you Sarah."  
"Thank you." She replied settling herself in the patients chair to one side of his desk.  
"Sorry about that, how can I help you this morning Sarah?" The Doctor asked drying his hands and sitting down in his chair before bringing her details up on his computer.  
"I cut myself, and it doesn't seem to be healing properly." Sarah said rather lamely. She watched him frown and pay full attention to her.  
"You... cut yourself. May I see?" Sarah nodded and held out the palm of her hand. Gesturing a little she nodded as he took her hand in his own to examine the scar. Without waiting for her to say anything further he pushed the sleeve of her jumper up revealing the hand sized black and yellow bruising that circled her wrist.  
"An accident." She whispered.  
"Like the previous one? I can't say I am not worried Sarah because I am, this is not right."  
"Please Doctor Blake..."  
"Gerry Sarah, please, we've known each other long enough to dispense with the formalities."  
"Gerry. I am grateful for your concern, really, but its just a bruise. I..."  
"These bruises happen all too often for my liking. He is no good for you."  
"I'm more concerned about the cut. It hurts still, throbs sometimes, is there anything you can give me?" She watched as he pulled his desk lamp closer so he could look at the thin line across her palm and faint red lines that ran out like a sunburst from it.  
"Infection is quite possible, it looks like there is foreign matter in the scar tissue that may need to be removed, small though it is. Anything could be enough to give you an infection, blood poisoning, other generalised nasties. When did you last have a tetanus jab?"  
"I'm not sure, maybe 6 years ago?"  
"HHmm well this looks more than a month old, so Tetanus would have emerged before now if you were infected. I'll give you a general course of antibiotic which should deal with anything bacterial, and some topical cream to rub in so the scar tissue doesn't harden. You should have come to me about this sooner." Gerry turned back to the computer and made a few entries frowning at his 2 fingered approach to typing.

"So. Now thats out the way, how are you coping with everything else? The gallery still running well?" He leaned back in his chair picking up his cup of tea.  
"Its fine, its all fine. We have a new sculptor coming in for an exhibition at the end of next month, you should bring your wife, let me grab you a flyer, I have some somewhere." Sarah turned flushing as she rooted about in her bag before turning back to face him proffering a slightly creased flyer.  
"You know we'll be there." He smiled taking the flyer off her. "How are you Sarah?" He waited patiently as she sat there trying to work out what to say.  
"I feel like, I am falling and theres no ground beneath my feet and nothing to grab hold of." She said finally looking up at him, her face a mask of fear. "I have nightmares. No dreams unless..."  
"Unless?" He prompted her gently knowing how reticent she was to discuss her issues.  
"Only recently, sometimes I have dreams about somebody I used to know."  
"Well theres an improvement. At least you remember that you are at least dreaming, be they nightmares or normal dreams."  
"They all feel like nightmares. Most of the time I still don't dream."  
"And you are still taking your medication regularly?"  
"Yes. Though I've had to increase how many sleeping tablets I take on some nights. You said that was ok right?" She waited anxiously for him to nod.  
"Up to a point, but don't over use them. Like the anti depressants they have side effects."  
"Doesn't everything." She replied grimly.  
"Any more panic attacks?"  
"No more than usual, but I am learning to control them when they happen. I still get anxious, somehow I find myself being..." She shrugged at him not knowing how to describe it. "Lost in my own mind. Like I can't deal with the external so I hide in here." She said touching her temple.  
"People who have suffered trauma and shock sometimes do this. Its a self preservation mechanism, though it concerns me you are finding yourself doing this more frequently. Unless you have suffered... trauma, that you've not told me about. Please Sarah, if theres something troubling you, making you frightened I am here to help. Regardless of what it may be. If you are frightened of your boyfriend I can put you in touch with a womens group..."  
"NO! I'm sorry, no, its ok honestly." Sarah flushed again biting her lip. She watched him scrawl a phone number down on another slip of paper and reluctantly took it off him as he proffered it to her.  
"Just in case." He said as she slipped it in her bag.  
"Thank you."  
"If you are still having the nightmares and sleep issues in a month come back to me, keep a note of how often and how much you take of the sleeping pills and when the nightmares occur. If need be we can swap your meds, but I want to be sure its those causing your issues, not something external like stress. Take care of yourself Sarah, Melaine and I will see you at the exhibition." Gerry smiled and nodded as she rose and slung her bag over her shoulder.  
She left without a further word.


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

She met Anita at the main entrance of the gallery carrying a box of cookies and half a dozen coffees in a take away bag. Taking the coffees from her friends hand Sarah smiled at Martin who opened the door for them and dropping her bag off her shoulder to the floor placed the coffees on the main reception desk. Winter had well and truly set in weeks after the rather underwhelming reception and launch of Cassandra's art. In 4 weeks things had gone steadily worse for Sarah. She had suffered a bout of flu and had twice more been back to the doctors trying to find some way of fixing what was broken inside her, and depressingly Ollie seemed to be still dividing his time between Cassandra and her, which she had to admit to herself was her own fault for not caring more.  
"Cookies for all!" Anita chimed as Chris and Toby clattered down the stairs.  
"Yum I'm starving!" Toby said immediately heading for the box of a coffee and backing out of his way Sarah added milk to the cup and stirred it in with a plastic spoon that seemed to be mournfully lopsided.  
"You had a call from the luscious Ambrose. He wants you to go sit for him again. 'E say you haf inspeered eem' ." Chris said around a mouthful of chocolate devil cookie, putting on a terrible Italian accent.  
"I wouldn't mind being 'inspeered' by him." Anita muttered making Chris snort into his coffee.  
"What does inspeered mean?" Toby asked innocently.  
"Nothing you need to know about young man." Sarah replied glaring at Anita who had rushed over to Chris to pat him on the back as he inhaled coffee.  
"OK I have a ton of paperwork to go through but I'm going to take it and this monster of a child home with me." Sarah said turning and making her way up the glass staircase to her office.  
"How is school going Toby?" Martin asked casually as he savoured his coffee.  
"Oh you know. Better than it used to be, but it will be even better when the holidays are here!" Toby grinned.  
"You still getting stick from those other boys?"  
"Nope. I did what you said and they stopped bothering. That and some of them had odd unfortunate accidents in the boys bathroom." The grin widened.  
"Oh really?" Anita laughed ruffling his hair across the desk.  
"Nothing to do with me!" Toby protested. "I was in class." His grin broke as he laughed. Behind him on the stairs Gob danced a jig of delight at the fun he had caused, catching Sarahs eye as she headed back down with a pile of paperwork making her frown at the goblin until he scuttled off smirking.  
"Here, take these to the car for me, I'll be there in a sec." She said herding Toby towards the back door against his protests. Picking up her coffee again from the desk she sighed and turned back to her staff. Friends. The few people she truly trusted.  
"Dr Blake has given me another course of antibiotics." She said flashing the palm of her hand at them by way of explanation. "And a lecture on taking care of myself. I'll go sit for Ambrose later in the week and in the mean time I'm officially taking a couple of days off work." She watched as they all nodded sagely. "I hate to do this to you all as you work so hard already..."  
"Oh pish posh. You pay us to work and that's what we do. Go get better!" Chris said with some asperity.  
"The doc is right Sarah, you've been over doing things for a while now. Take some time off and get a bit of R&R." Martin said. "Don't you be worrying about the gallery, we can cope."  
"Without Ollie." Anita muttered. Sarah frowned again.  
"I really don't know what hes up to, or why he is being such a pain in the ass right now. I know you guys are as sick of his attitude as I am. Another reason I'm taking a few days off to consider my options."  
"Do more art." Chris insisted as Martin turned away to speak to a couple who had just come in through the main doors. "Art heals all things." He smiled.  
"I'll try. Just ring me if Ollie starts something." Sarah hugged them both and waved to Martin across the room before letting herself out the back door, taking the staircase down to the basement car park.  
"Can we get takeout for lunch?" Toby asked as she got into the car, throwing her bag into the back seat and hearing a muffled grunt. Turning she found Gob climbing out from under her bag messing up the stack of paperwork.  
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" She growled.  
"Nope." Gob replied climbing over the seat into Toby's lap making him laugh.  
"Takeout Sarah?" Toby pleaded.  
"Are you paying?" She grinned as she pulled the car out into the mid morning traffic. Toby pouted and sat watching the cars go past in imitation of Gob who as usual had his nose pressed against the window.  
Turning into the fast food dive a few blocks from the apartment she grinned as Toby squeed in glee before trying to work out what to order.  
Sarah nearly choked in horror when the girl who handed their food over to them casually said "nice dog" nodding to Gob. The Goblin grinned toothily at her as she stared at him whilst Sarah pulled away feeling traumatised.  
Toby in his usual nonstop chatter preceded her up the stairs and into the apartment already digging into his box of chips.  
"Don't tell Karen we had takeout for lunch." Sarah grinned as she unwrapped her burger, for once not caring that it might be filled with evil calories that might ruin her diet, or lack of. Spreading out on the sofa Toby smirked in a very "I'm a Goblin King" manner making her once again nearly choke. Toby didn't notice and carried on trying to turn the TV on at the same time as cramming chips into his mouth.  
"Its the weekend and I'm freeeeeee from school for 3 whole days! Hurray for teacher training days!" He said joyously for the third time.  
"Has Karen got anything planned?"  
"Dunno. Don't care." He shrugged paying more attention to the TV before passing Gob a chip.  
"Don't beg Gob its bad manners." Sarah chided the goblin who turned his large liquid eyes on her. "I'm not as gullible as Toby." She stuck her tongue out at him then sighed, watching a goblin with puppy eyes and a quivering lip was too much for the hardest of hearts to ignore. Finally she reached over to her bag and pulled out several mini pots of all types of flavours of jam. "You can have one now, and take the others back with you for later." She told him placing all the pots next to the goblin on the coffee table. Gobs eyes lit up and immediately he began rummaging through the pots trying to decide which colour to eat. The tear off lid of a strawberry jam was soon stuck to the table as Gob stuck his paw straight in.  
Sarah returned her attention to her bag and after a few seconds rooting around finally found her cellphone. Taking the postit note from her pocket she reluctantly dialed the number.  
"Allo?"  
"Ambrose?"  
"Ci eet is Ambrose." His Italian drawl was unmistakable.  
"Hey Ambrose its Sarah. You spoke to Anita earlier about your sculptures?"  
"AAAH Cara Mia of course! You will come pose for me again no?"  
"If you insist. Anita gave the impression it was urgent."  
"Naturalmente è urgente! Ahh sorry Cara I forget my Eeengleesh when I am exciteeed! Yes urgent! Say you weel come tomorrow? I weel be ere first thing. I haf to show you my new sculpture. You weel love it!"  
"Ok, about 10am then in your workshop."  
"Perfetto! I see you then!"

Ambrose disconnected and Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. His natural excitement was overwhelming but she couldn't blame him if he'd managed to start work on another sculpture. All the better for the exhibition, but not entirely how she planned to spend her day. Mentally shrugging to herself she stole the remote from Toby and changed over to a more interesting channel and tried to relax whilst eating her own food.  
An hour later the carbs had made her feel languid and fat, and it was a conscious effort on her part to make a move from the sofa.  
"Ok Tobe I'm heading for a bath." She climbed over her brother and made her way into her room debating if she should do her legs at the same time. Sticking the plug into her roll top luxury bath she turned the hot water on and left the tub to fill. Coming back a few minutes later to add some self indulgent bubble bath to the slowly rising water level. Humming distractedly she smothered her legs in cream and took her time with the razor. The last thing she wanted was razor cuts. Once they were done she sank gratefully into the bath and turned the hot water off sighing deeply as the hot water eased her muscles. She lay suspended in the dimly lit bathroom trying to let her mind unwind along with her muscles. Avoiding any stray thought that took her back to one goblin king. She had almost succeeded, thinking of anything but, then for no explanation whatsoever she was suddenly stood on the balcony of his study in the main tower of the castle looking out over the sunlit yellow stone labyrinth in all its glory. In shock she yelped and then realised she was stark naked and dripping wet standing on his balcony. Trying to cover herself up she wished herself back into her bathroom, pressing herself against the sun warmed stone and squeezing her eyes shut. In the distance she could hear a babble of voices getting closer and mortified she wished harder to be back in her own bathroom, safe.  
With a sploosh she was once more calf deep in her own bathtub, trembling. Her scar throbbed angrily and she scrambled out of the now tepid water horrified by what had happened.

The goblin councilors trailed after their king muttering and complaining about having their meeting abruptly cut short, blissfully unaware that said king was controlling onto his temper by hair. Stalking through his castle like a bristling cat he threw the door of his study open expecting to find the interloper within. In astonishment he searched the room, and found only a small puddle of already drying water and a curious blob of what smelt and looked like bubblebath on his balcony along with a few footprints. The flowery soap smell tickled his memory, which tried desperately to remember something. The smell smirked gleefully at his brain before fading, and the memory with it which only added to the kings ire. Dismissing the councilors he stepped without a pause through the veils and into one rather steamy and damp but empty bathroom, the bathwater sans bubbles gurgling merrily down the plughole. His scowl deepened.

She sat breathing deeply trying to calm her nerves on her bed, her soaking wet hair dripping slowly down her back making the towel and the bedcovers wet as she examined her hand.  
"Have you never heard that its rude to drop in uninvited and leave again without so much as a by your leave?" His voice sent shivers down her spine.  
"I was having a bath. I didn't intend to drop in uninvited." She didn't turn around to look at him but closed her hand to hide her palm and clutched the towel around her more tightly.  
"I do not expect you to do so again am I clear? Naked or otherwise." With that he was gone, leaving behind a scorched electric feeling in the air.  
"Yes Your grand Pain In The Ass." Sarah muttered flopping backwards onto her bed and rolling herself up in her duvet to hide, the scar on her hand throbbing in time with her head.


	12. Chapter 12

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

Toby was whistling. Her brain muttered darkly and tried to bury itself back in the warm comforting darkness of sleep. It didn't work. Groaning Sarah rolled slowly from the duvet and staggered from her room blurry eyed and feeling rough.  
"What time is it?"  
"9am. I couldn't sleep, was too hungry." Toby said from across the remains of breakfast scattered on the dining table.  
"Urgh." Sarah responded before sloping into the kitchen to locate her prescription and some water to take the tablets with. She found them in her bag and poured herself a glass of water before heading back to the table.  
"You look awful." Toby stated grinning.  
"Thanks." Sarah grimaced knocking back the tablets. "I said I'd be at the university for 10. Are you staying here?"  
"Yer... Karen called. She's going out with her girlfriends." Sarah smiled sadly as the tone of Toby's voice altered between one breath and the next.  
"No burning the house down, and don't let the goblins run riot. And no calling for takeout. There's loads of food in the fridge if you are hungry. And if you have friends round don't let them run riot either!" She said walking past him ruffling his hair.  
"Sarah!" He groused trying to pat it down again.

Changing into a loose skirt and fitted T-shirt before smearing some moisturiser on her face and hands she splashed herself with a little of her favourite perfume and heading towards the door picked up her bag and telephone on the way.  
"I'll try not to be too late. Have a good day!" She called to Toby who had retreated back to his room. She paused waiting for the muffled response then closed and locked the door behind her.  
The drive to the university was slow through the bustling city despite the drizzle that quickly soaked anything not under cover. Pausing at a set of traffic lights she watched absent-mindedly as a young girl and her mother covered by a large umbrella hugged each other closely laughing and chatting as they crossed the road in front of her. For a second Sarah wondered what it would have been like to have had a mother who cared if she was getting wet in the rain but dismissed the thought as the lights turned and she drove on.  
She had long since reconciled to herself that the only two adult women she had had growing up besides her school teachers had neither really wanted her, or cared. Though her relationship with Karen was about as frosty as it could get, Sarah's mother once in a blue moon had sent her postcards or small mementos from her trips. Sadly Sarah doubted that her mother ever remembered how old her daughter was from the contents of some of the small and extremely infrequent packages. Never the less each postcard and parcel was placed carefully into a wooden box like tiny little treasures and several foreign ornaments were placed on the tree each Christmas.  
It took her a while to find a car parking space once she reached the university and battled with her umbrella for a moment before dashing into the main engrave of the art and design building.  
"Are you here for the open day?"  
"I beg your pardon?" Sarah stopped shaking out her umbrella and stared at the young woman in front of her trying to give her a flyer.  
"The open day" She positively beamed. "Refreshments though the hallway there and career stands in the main theatre here."  
"Oh, no sorry, I'm meeting somebody in the sculpture workshop."  
"Right you are then." The girl smiled before turning away to pounce on another unfortunate newcomer.  
Sarah hurried off down a side corridor escaping the helpful volunteers.

In the cavernous workshop sounds of casual industry mingled with some form of classical music from a stereo being slowly buried under layers of dust. In his corner Ambrose was already sketching pencil lines onto one of his works in progress and humming to himself.  
"Morning." Sarah said announcing herself so she didn't make him jump.  
"Cara eet ees wonderful no? Come you look ere. I haf been working ard." Ambrose broke into a devastating grin as he turned and kissed Sarah on the cheek several times before taking her bag and umbrella off her to walk her round his sculptures.  
"She is perfeto no? See ow you inspeer me!" He crowed joyfully uncovering the sculpture that had previously no facial features. The work he had done was masterful, Sarah found herself looking at her own face, delicately recreated with soft flowing lines of hair cascading down and the most detailed chains and gems seemingly entwined in the stone.  
"And zees, zees ees new work. My pride. My instructor say he haz never weetnessed such beauty!" Ambrose barely stopped to take a breath before ushering Sarah on to another covered work which he delightfully unveiled with a flourish which sent clouds of dust into the air.  
Sarah had to clap her hands over her mouth. Not because of the dust but because the new sculpture whilst leaving barely anything to the imagination was seemingly draped by the thinnest and most delicately detailed lace which fell gracefully to pool at the sculptures feet. The statue gazed with as yet un-detailed eyes to a distant view whilst more cascades of hair fell down her back and shoulders.  
"Err face iz not finished. I need you to pose for me yes?"  
"Ambrose, you've out done yourself. I can't even begin to tell you how beautiful they are." She grinned in delight before sitting down on a stool close to a light.  
She had never modelled herself, yet had attended and attempted to draw during many life classes so she found the experience of being scrutinised a surreal experience.  
Sketchbook in hand Ambrose sat on another stool at his cluttered workbench amid his tools and sketched her from multiple angles, whilst the classical music provided gentle sounds to accompany the scratching of the charcoal.  
They talked frequently and quite animatedly about master sculptors from eras long gone and of travelling the great classical art houses of Europe. Ambrose's grin and ready laughter was infectious and several times she had to beg him to stop making her laugh so much.

He suddenly stopped muttering to himself in Italian as he wiped his hands on a rag.  
"why you no remind me of lunch? Eeet ees far past lunch time no? You wait ere I go get uz somezing to eeet."  
He made her sit back down again as she protested she was ok.  
"I return queekly." he called striding off.  
She laughed as he trotted off then snuck a look at his sketch work, which was she had to admit, just as beautiful and evocative as his sculpture work. Standing up from her stool to stretch her legs she opened his larger portfolio and immediately reached for her phone.  
"Anita?" She asked as soon as the call was picked up.  
"No darling its Santa's little helper, what can I do for you?"  
"Just the person I wanted." Sarah smiled carefully flipping over another page in Ambrose's portfolio. "What are you doing right now and how busy is the gallery?"  
"Stood here talking to you and not very. I did just sell that tiny little copperplate print from out the window though." Chris said smugly.  
"Can you come over to the university, I'm with Ambrose, I think you need to see his portfolio... why did we not look at this last time we were here? This guy is a genius!"  
"I'll be right over, I'm intrigued, I thought we were only doing an installation for him?"  
"Not now I've seen his portfolio."  
"Anita is pouting at me, and now I'm doubly intrigued! Be with you in 20!" Chris hung up and Sarah went back to flicking carefully through the incredible life drawings and sketches in Ambrose's portfolios.  
They would have to be framed, they'd need to call Rob to start ordering glass and wood for the order. Sarah made notes on her Blackberry, sidetracked by the beautiful expressionism Ambrose caught in his life studies.

Movement across the room caught her eye and she hastily went over to help Ambrose with the veritable mountain of food and drink he had returned with.  
"I deeed not know wheech you prefer." He grinned apologetically as she laughed rescuing his sketch book before he dumped everything on top of it.  
"Thank you." She said sitting back down with a can of soda and a ham and salad sandwich.  
"I've called Chris and asked him to come over. Ambrose, your sketch work is stunning. We've got to get some of these pieces framed and hung in the gallery for your show. Everyone's going to love them."  
Ambrose's grin momentarily disappeared in what Sarah now recognised as a typical artist reaction to a compliment on their work. More truth as Jareth would say.  
"Honestly Ambrose, your work is beautiful." She smiled touching him on his arm. "Its the truth."  
His grin returned and almost she thought with a little more belief in himself. Perhaps she could truly this time help somebody find their dreams.  
"You flatter me Cara. Do you really think so?"  
"I do, which is why I called Chris. Its my own fault for not asking to see them last time we were here, but I believe we were all a little overwhelmed." She smiled again and nodded reassuringly before opening her sandwich as Ambrose did the same, his equilibrium restored.  
"I guess we'll have to speak to your tutor about this. No doubt they will complain." She smirked remembering her own tutors.  
"He ees ere. At zee open day. Should I get eem now?" Ambrose asked half standing.  
"No, no it can wait for now." Sarah laughed again feeling better than she had in weeks. "We'll let Chris have a look then we'll decide."  
Ambrose nodded and with a sandwich in one hand he carried on sketching as Sarah sat and ate, watching his hand make light work of the lines and curves the charcoal created on the fresh sheet of paper.

True to his word, 20 minutes later Chris arrived bearing more coffee which pleased both Sarah and Ambrose as they admitted, taking cups from Chris, that the university coffee was terrible.  
"So whats all the exciteme..." Chris shut up and went to the new sculpture, staring at it in fascination. "Incredible technique." He muttered leaning closer to see the details of the lace.  
"Chris, the portfolios..." Sarah said distracting him.  
"Of course, show me!"  
Between the 3 of them they took the 5 heavy portfolio cases over to a large empty desk so they could lay them flat.  
In silence Chris began going through the sketches and more finished pieces. Absently he got out his digital camera and took a shot of the ones that really caught his eye before moving on tot he next piece.  
"Why ees he taking zee photos?" Ambrose whispered to Sarah as they stood and watched Chris.  
"We print out rough copies of everything we think will work in a gallery display, and use them to compile a complete showcase of the work. Much easier and faster than framing lots of work that might not get used, and we prefer to choose a few pieces which work cohesively than many that don't really show the artwork off at its best. With everything in your portfolios we'll be spoilt for choice." Sarah said as Ambrose nodded.  
"Plus we also don't want to deprive you of your entire set of portfolios, you still need them to complete the course. I'd hate to make an enemy of your tutor."  
Ambrose stood there silently, then laughed.  
"My tutor... I think eee would prefer you to take zee portfolios of zee students oo are not so good so ee doz not ave to mark zem no?" He laughed again which made Sarah laugh, making Chris stop and ask what the joke was. Explaining set Ambrose off laughing again.

When Chris reached the end of the last portfolio he looked up at Ambrose, who had returned to sketching Sarah who was practically hugging her now cold coffee. Regarding them both made him suddenly jealous. Ambrose was as much a genius as Sarah had proclaimed him to be, and watching him sketch Sarah, capturing her stunning beauty with such ease whilst she sat and daydreamed of castles and kings made him feel an outsider, despite the fact he was a moderately successful artist and author himself.  
"27 pieces." He said breaking the silence making Sarah glance up at him startled out of her reverie.  
"I could have chosen the entire lot. We'll have to do a lot of shuffling, but many of them are small pieces which we can display closer together as sets." He continued as Sarah smiled.  
"Will your tutor still be here?" She asked turning to Ambrose as she checked her watch for the time.  
"I weel go check." Ambrose grinned before turning and striding away giving Chris a chance to admire the artist from behind.  
"Down boy." Sarah said chuckling as she stood up to stand next to him. "Hes too young for you, and hes not your type."  
"For him I might be persuaded to change 'my type'" Chris said with a straight face. "If his tutor doesn't throw an eppy fit I'll take these ones I've selected at first pass over to Rob's. He has more room to set them out then I can see exactly how everything looks."  
"That would be great, thank you."  
"You going to come with me?" Chris asked turning back to the portfolios.  
"I trust you. Surprise me." She smiled as multiple footsteps warned them of Ambrose returning with his tutor.

"Miss Williams, I've heard nothing but good reports of your gallery. Can I just say I'm thrilled Ambrose's work will get the chance to be displayed. The University is very proud."  
"I'll bet..." Whispered Chris in Sarah's ear as they turned to greet Ambrose's tutor. With a slight look of going to seed Professor Forbes did not seem the art lecturer type, but then Sarah's own art professor in her first year at university had been convinced that rock trolls did in fact exist and spent every summer searching for them in the forests of Hungary and in the Carpathian mountains of Romania. Sarah, knowing what she knew, had never tried to convince the woman otherwise.  
"…Perhaps if you have time I can show you some of our other students work?" He went on in a hopeful query.  
"Thank you for the kind offer, but right now our books are very full, and we would not want to detract from Ambrose's work at the moment. Perhaps next year we can have a look at featuring another up and coming artist from the graduating class." Sarah replied giving him a political brush off.  
"In the mean time, we've selected several of Ambrose's portfolio pieces to accompany his sculptures in the gallery. We wanted to be sure you had no issue with this, bearing in mind they would be on display during and after graduation up to the summer months. I wanted to be sure we weren't going to hinder Ambrose's chances of getting excellent grades all round for both his portfolio and practical work."  
Sarah watched the tutor speculating in his head and decided to err on the side of prudence.  
"We will of course be delighted to see you at the launch party next month. Has Ambrose given you the details yet? I do hope you and your .. wife will be able to join us?" She said smiling sweetly and touching him on the arm trying to convey a sense of hopefulness despite her slightly less than sincere desire for them to be there. He looked down at her hand on his arm and then smiled in satisfaction.  
"I.. well I'm flattered Miss Williams, of course, we'd be delighted to be there to support one of our best students. Is this invitation open to all the art faculty?" Sarah gritted her teeth and nodded.  
"Of course. So theres no issue then about using some of Ambrose's portfolio then."  
"Not at all. It will be nice to see them hung in such a prestigious gallery. Of course if you need any help in selecting which pieces to put together, I'm a bit of an art critic myself." Professor Forbes went on preening himself slightly. Sarah immediately had a vision in her head of a turkey trying to de-ruffle its feathers.  
"Its very kind of you to offer Professor but Chris one of our main gallery curators has already made an initial selection, and I am completely confident he's made excellent and complimentary choices to fit with Ambrose's sculptures."  
"Excellent excellent. I'll be off then. See you next month, and you in the morning Ambrose." The Professor trotted away feeling like he'd just gotten an excellent deal, and as soon as he was out of ear shot Ambrose groaned.

"Deed you reely ave to eenvite eem? Eee ees such a bore." He pouted.  
"Don't worry Ambrose, they normally leave after the free champagne runs out." Sarah said winking at him.  
"Right then dolls, I'll take these straight over to Rob's and we will start setting them up to be framed. Ambrose, you're not going to have a hissy fit with me are you if we need to trim some of them slightly to be mounted are you?"  
"Nono, ees fine for you to feex them."  
"Marvelous." Chris carefully packed the sketches and paintings away into their individual sleeves and popped them all into an empty portfolio carrier that Ambrose passed over to him.  
"Do you have enough references now to be getting on with?" Sarah asked as Chris put his coat on.  
"Yes of course Cara, a meeleeon thank yous for coming today. My new sculptures, zey will be perfecto." He said kissing Sarah again on the cheeks and helping her into her coat.  
"I'll get Anita to drop some of the brochures off to you to hand out as soon as they are printed."  
"Breeleant. I see you both soon." He said waving them both off.

Around the university campus lights were already coming on as the short winter day gave up and fled the oncoming night. Fortunately as they evaded the last mingling open day visitors it had stopped raining.  
"Darling. Go home, rest. I'll take care of these and email you over some drafts later in the week." Chris said hugging Sarah after he had walked her over to her car.  
"I will try. Its not that easy." Sarah sighed.  
"Try harder. Speak to you later!" Chris said striding off with the precious portfolio.  
Unlocking the car and sliding into the seat she suppressed another sigh. It really wasn't that easy.

* * *

**Authors Note.**

My high school art teacher did in fact believe without a shadow of a doubt that rock trolls existed. Furthermore, she not only spent every summer in Romania hunting trolls and vampires, but also created small pottery castles, which she told us contained tiny rock trolls she had managed to catch. I'm not sure if she was messing with her very gullible art students, or if she really believed it. Either way I liked her, and it made for some very awesome art lessons.

On a similar note, Ambrose is based loosely on somebody I went to university with for a while. We were convinced he was the love child of some Italian god and a beautiful gypsy girl and had a voice that could melt the hardest of female hearts. He used to run around campus shouting "MAMBAS" at people and generally getting away with murder. Fun times.

Also, many thanks for all the comments, I do appreciate them, and I'm sorry its taken me so long to get updated! I'm using my convalescence time after knee surgery to get going with this xx


	13. Chapter 13

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

I can't believe its been 4 years I've been writing this damn fanfic on and off. I'm sorry to everyone who has read it at any point during those years wanting an end to it! I'm getting there I promise! Lanny

* * *

Internally Jareth, King of the Goblins, Lord of the 7 realms and one time Champion of the Labyrinth sighed. He sighed out loud for good measure too making the rotund Goblin councillor look up from his papers in terror.  
"Continue." Jareth waved a hand negligently as he rose from his throne and crossed to one of the large open windows to stare out over the Labyrinth.  
Like him, it brooded. Waiting for... something. Things stirred in the gloom, and somehow Jareth could feel the Labyrinth twisting in agony. He dared not think about her... and sighed again, having just automatically thought about her.  
"Your Majesty?"  
"I'm sorry you were saying Councillor."  
"Urh... urm. Thats err.. quite ok Your Majesty." The goblin stuttered completely dumbfounded by the all be it sidetracked apology the King had just given him. The King never apologised.  
"How much food do we have stored?" Jareth asked pacing back to his throne and slumping into it.  
"3 maybe 4 months if we start to ration now. If the crops had been better... everything fails Your Majesty. We've tried everything we can think of. Some of the fields, they yield, but once harvested the crop rots instantly. Other fields just will not sprout. Pigs and chickens die for no reason..." The goblin continued making the most of his time before the King.  
"I see." Jareth simply said.  
The Goblin stood there, nervously shuffling his papers in his trembling hands, but the King said nothing further. Moments passed and the Goblin almost sighed in relief as High Lady Anyetta appeared at the doorway to the side of the throne frowning at the King before stepping forward.  
"The King thanks you for your report. I shall see that we send out for more food in the meantime, and will have the King issue a proclamation about rationing food." She said gracefully accepting the papers from him.  
"Thank you High Lady. Majesty." The Councillor mumbled bowing low then scurrying from the throne room.  
"Your Majesty." Anyetta said turning to him in concern. He sat there, silent, brooding. "I will …"  
"Do as you wish Anyetta. Send to my brother for additional food if we start running very low." Jareth said suddenly focusing on her.  
"You look exhausted. Perhaps you should rest for a while." She said walking forwards and gently brushing stray hairs from his face.  
"How can I rest Anyetta. I can not stop this destruction. My world is turned upside down and there's not a damn thing I can do. No magic in the land is strong enough to change this. Not even mine."  
Anyetta with her hand still on his cheek bent down and kissed him on the forehead. One time lovers she understood what few women did about the mysterious Goblin King, and she loved him for it. Devotion was not an adequate enough word to describe Jareth's link with the labyrinth. Other Kings claimed they were one with their lands. Queens had proclaimed they were married to their realms, and Princes had spilt blood over boundaries for nigh on centuries. Yet none compared to the bond between the Labyrinth and its King. When he bled, the Labyrinth bled too. When he dreamt of something, the Labyrinth in turn created it from dust for his pleasure. The fae court had once speculated that she might marry this enigmatic King. Yet she knew she never would. She loved him, but he would never be able to love her the way he did another. Yet he hid that even from himself. For years after the Labyrinth had been defeated by a child named Sarah the world was forbidden to utter her name. The destruction, and breaking had been absolute. Yet Anyetta did not hate the girl, for she knew that Sarah had been too young to understand what had been offered.  
"Rest Jareth. It will do you some good. Shall I send you some wine to your rooms?" She frowned in concern as he sighed again, letting her draw him from his throne and towards the grand staircase to the upper parts of the castle.  
"Thank you." He said walking off up the stairs, almost in a daze.  
Turning to make her way to her office she silently cursed the cruelty and capriciousness of the fates for the events that had lead to this. What they aimed to achieve she could not fathom, yet she still hoped for salvation from the Labyrinths suffering. For as he was bound to the land, so his subjects were bound to him, his magic protecting and nurturing the entire realm.  
Eventually returning to his apartments with wine and crystal glasses she found him asleep on his bed, boots still on.

It rained, seemingly endless rain in the shattered remains of the Labyrinth, but it suited his mood so he walked on. Ignoring the cold water dripping from his hair and down his neck and the slithering sound of his cloak no longer swirling around his feet but dragging along the ground in a sodden mass. He cared not that his perfectly burnished boots were covered in mud and autumn coloured leaves. Absently he stopped at a crossroads ignoring the broken walls around him and the massive blocks of stone he constantly had to step around until a broken wall, scattered across the path barred his way.  
Jareth stopped and bent his will to the obstruction, seething that anything should get in the way of his melancholy. The bricks and stone blocks floated almost gracefully from the path restacking themselves haphazardly into a semblance of walls either side of him. Satisfied he walked on, oblivious to the crashing sounds of a wall tumbling behind as he turned a corner into another corridor. Once it had all seemed so perfect, organic and, alive. Now, like his heart it was twisted and broken.  
He walked on, ignoring the whispers in the back of his head with a persistent stubbornness. He knew all too well what those whispers said, knew that if he ignored them he could carry on pretending to be the jilted King, the wronged one, the victim. He found himself once again in the small courtyard with the broken wall in the center. The pale roses had spread, tendrils weaving themselves into the stones of the new walls he had created, wrapping tender shoots around the tops of the pillars and once settled burst forth with the beautiful flowers, shining with a milky white haze in the gloom and rain, weighing down the vines til they almost sagged to the floor on the outer side of the walls. Jareth felt like a vine, the heaviest burden on his shoulders making him want to sit down and howl with agony. He knew his subjects felt some of what he felt, but could not make himself reach the obvious conclusion.  
He supposed he could have unmade them, but then, they were part of the Labyrinth too, and their unmaking would hurt him far more than having to bear their whispered cries.  
A deft flick of his hand and the stone wall in front of him, shifted. Stone flowed, creating an archway into the courtyard. Around the new opening the vines shifted too, allowing this opening into their midst.  
He stepped into the courtyard and breathed in deeply, almost intoxicated by the scent of the roses as he brushed past them into the centre, and suddenly knew what he should do.  
"Hoggle." He spoke quietly, weaving magic around him to summon the dwarf to him. He waited as the magic did its work, and behind him heard the shuffling footsteps that betrayed the dwarfs location.  
"Majesty" The dwarf croaked, fearful of being summoned.  
"Your opinion of these roses Gardener." Jareth said turning to him, plucking a single glowing rose from its vine and handing the flower over.  
"Exquisite." Hoggle murmured, examining the rose delicately in his thick fingers. "Reminds me of..." He stopped and looked up at his King warily.  
"Speak."  
".. reminds me of hope Your Majesty."  
"Indeed." Jareth turned away from Hoggle, contemplating something whilst the dwarf stood there carefully holding the rose.  
"Could you create a perfume from them?" Jareth asked at last.  
"Of course Your Majesty..."  
"I hear a "but" in your tone Gardener."  
"There are some other things I would need to collect, but they are in dangerous areas now..."  
"You will be given safety. Find the Knight and the Stone Caller."  
"As you command Your Majesty." Hoggle said bowing as well as he could trying to keep his delight at being allowed to see his old friends again hidden.  
"Here." Jareth said conjuring a crystal perfume bottle and handing it to Hoggle.  
"Majesty... it won't hurt her will it." Hoggle asked, making the most of his scant store of courage.  
"No. Not this time." Jareth sighed, absently waving the dwarf away and walking over to the broken wall. At one side lay a large foundation stone that made a convenient seat. Jareth sat, and returned to his brooding.

She stood looking at the wet canvas in a feverish state. She'd woken up in the middle of the night with this image in her head, and she knew from experience that unless she sketched it out somewhere she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Strangely instead of reaching for the sketchbook and pencils she kept in the top of her dresser by the bed she had gotten up and on bare feet padded over to her studio. The paintbrush in her hand felt natural as did the soft repetitive strokes of glistening oil onto the previously primed canvas. The painting had practically drawn itself and as she looked at the results of 3 hours of painting in the middle of the night she felt sick.  
The scene was one of destruction and desolation, the dark umbers and tepid grey greens of a wasteland broke her heart. This was the remains of the labyrinth, how it would be if she didn't find some way to fix it. Her hand throbbed and throbbed and she sank back into her worn but comfortable chair and buried her head in her hands, weeping with sadness and grief that seemed to belong to another.

"Sarah!" The voice belonged to another time, another world, it insistently drew her back from where she stood in her dreams. "SARAH!"  
"wha.."  
"Oh you're here." Toby chirped poking his head into the studio with a half eaten slice of toast in his hand.  
"Yes. I'm here. Where else would I be?" She groaned stretching and trying to massage feeling back into dead limbs.  
"Coffee?"  
"Ohh Tobe, yes please!" Sarah sagged back into her chair and made an attempt to wipe sleep out of her eyes so she could review her work in the morning light. In the kitchen it seemed that Toby had to make the loudest crashes and bangs possible as he rooted through the cupboards and dishwasher.  
Rain made miniature riverlets down the French doors that lead out to the balcony and seemed to cast strange shifting patterns across the dark canvas on her easel.  
"Change." She whispered trying to envision the Labyrinth basking golden in the warmth of the sun but the brooding vista remained stubbornly unmoved. She sighed and got up, throwing a much used linen cover over the canvas hiding its sad painting from view.  
"Out of sight but not out of mind." She murmured.  
"What was that?"  
"Nothing Tobe, thank you." She said walking into the kitchen as Toby turned and handed her a steaming mug of coffee. She watched him as he opened a new loaf of bread and stuck another batch into the toaster to watch them brown. On top of the fridge Gob sat swinging his short stubby legs over the side eating a crust with liberal amounts of strawberry jam smeared on it.  
"Karen had a go at me last night. So tired of her taking her shit out on me." Toby groused ignoring Sarah's splutter as he swore.  
"Show her a little respect Tobe, she's still your mom no matter what she's going through."  
"I wish.."  
"DON'T"  
Toby stopped mid statement and turned to face his sister, taken aback by her shout and by the terrified look in her eyes.  
"Don't ever wish for anything against your family Tobe." Sarah whispered.  
"What gives, I didn't really mean it." He shrugged turning back as the toaster coughed out the now toasted bread.  
"Words and wishes have power Toby. Don't ever use them lightly." Sarah sighed feeling the scar aching against the side of her coffee mug. She put the mug down feeling sick. "You'd better run, you're going to be late for school."  
She gasped as Toby turned and hugged her tightly.  
"Sorry." He mumbled before letting her go and walking away to collect his school bag. "See you tonight?"  
"Sure thing." Sarah smiled, the hard knot in her stomach gone with Toby's uncharacteristic gesture. She watched amused as Toby left the apartment, Gob trotting at his heels like a dog.  
"You're an idiot Sarah. Calm down." She told herself as she headed across the living room to go and have a shower.  
The phone rang, and carried on ringing until Anita had managed to run all the way up the stairs from the main gallery to her office muttering under her breath.  
"Hello?"  
"Hello, Anita?"  
"Yes, Toby is that you?"  
"Sorry to bother you"  
"No bother Tobe what's up? Everything ok?" Anita asked pausing to sit on the edge of her desk to catch her breath.  
"Its ok just..."  
"Toby honey what is it?"  
"Its Sarah. She's just, she was acting really weird this morning."  
"She's been under a lot of stress, and she's hurt her hand so the doctors given her some tablets."  
"I know I just. I'm worried she's on her own. I said I was going back tonight after school. Will you come over? She always feels better when you and Chris come over."  
Anita smiled at his concern.  
"Sure thing sweety, I'll get Chris to order take out for us. Don't worry, she'll be ok."  
"Thanks Anita. I'll see you later then ok?"  
"Yes you will. See you later Toby."  
Putting the phone down Anita sat and chewed on a fingernail for a moment.  
"Everything ok?" Chris asked walking past her open doorway with a box of catalogues in his arms.  
"Toby."  
"Toby what? Is this a riddle?"  
"No, that was him on the phone. He's worried about her, wants us to go over after work. I said we'd order takeout."  
"Ooh night in, sounds cosy! Shall I find us a film to watch?" Chris clapped his hands in excitement.  
"If you want!" Anita grinned walking with him back down to the front desk.


	14. Chapter 14

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

2 updates in as many weeks, what strange voodoo magic is this! D: 3

* * *

The cup of coffee sat and steamed by her elbow as she sat curled in her favourite chair scribbling away in her sketch pad. Every so often she would reach across the intervening space, her pencil falling silent as she sipped thoughtfully, digesting the shapes coming together on the page in front of her. She hadn't known when she started sketching what she would end up with, but right now it seemed that Gob, and a jar of strawberry jam was coming to life under the graphite strokes. Behind her on the shelf her Ipod played a soothing mix of ambient and classical music, blurring the sounds of the outside world and masking the absolute silence of the apartment. The afternoon had waned into evening without her noticing other than to absently light candles for a bit of extra light along with her antique glass lamp in the corner of the room. They threw warm, flickering shadows across her book collection and paintings. She glanced up catching sight of her prints from the Pre-Raphaelite artists she so admired and sighed wondering if she might ever be that talented. She shook her head in dismissal. Dreams had a very different meaning for her these days. The lessons she had learnt in those 13 hours that had felt like a lifetime had stuck with her.

She screamed as the scar on her hand leapt into what felt like fire, clutching it to her chest as tears of agony fell from her cheeks. The coffee cup fell unseen from the armrest of the chair shattering along with pencils and sketchbook.  
Somehow she managed to stagger to the kitchen to douse her hand under icy cold water. Gasping as the throbbing pain pulsed from her hand all the way up her arm, yet as she stared at it under the running water it seemed unchanged, no more red or inflamed than it had been when she woke up. Small mercies she grimaced reaching for a towel with her shaking right hand and turning the tap off. She slid to the floor trembling as she tried to wrap her left hand in the towel still sobbing in pain.  
"Sarah! Sarah are you home?" Anita called using her spare key to the apartment, juggling her bag and a stack of pizza boxes.  
"Sarah? Oh my god Sarah! What happened?!" She cried out dumping the pizzas on the dining room table and dropping her bag as she hurried into the kitchen seeing her best friend huddled on the floor. "Sweetheart, we must get you off the floor!" Sniffling Sarah allowed Anita to man handle her to her feet and over to the sofa. "How long have you been sat there? Honestly Sarah you can't carry on like this." Anita said hugging her tight and rubbing her back.  
"Now. Deep breath. Lets clean you up. Toby is going to be here any minute as is Chris who won't want to miss out on any pizza." She carried on releasing Sarah so she could scrutinise her.  
"I need my tablets." Sarah whispered sighing and trying to pull her hair out of her face.  
"You need a shower. Go. Now. Then we can organise food and other things." Anita instructed pulling Sarah to her feet and pushing her in the direction of her bedroom. Whilst Sarah was showering she cleaned up the spill in her studio and cleared the kitchen, setting dishes and plates out on the dining table. She was just opening a bottle of wine when Toby and Chris piled through the door laughing and kidding about.

"Oooh pizza! Did you get pepperoni?" Toby asked dropping his bag and coat on the floor by the door and heading straight for the dining table.  
"Just for you Tobe!" Anita grinned pouring out 3 glasses of wine and a tumbler of Cola for Toby.  
"Where's Sarah?" Chris asked taking off his coat and hanging it in the closet.  
"Showering."  
"Right ho. Maybe we should wait for her?"  
"Don't want it to get cold." Toby said grinning around a mouthful of pizza. "What film did you get?"  
"Its a surprise." Chris said taking a pile of flyers and catalogues from his satchel, placing them proudly on the chair Sarah usually used before taking a seat himself.  
"I was at dads at lunchtime." Toby said as they all reached for pizza, hearing Sarah's hair dryer in the background.  
"Yer? Hows he doing?" Anita asked sipping her glass of wine.  
"Not great." Toby shrugged unhappily. "But I thought I saw Ollie. Driving away as I came round the corner." He sat silently as Anita and Chris stopped eating and looked at him.  
"He's never met your dad has he?"  
"Don't think so. Sarah always takes me with her when she goes and he's never been with us."  
"You sure it was him Tobe?" Anita frowned.  
"He drives a green Jag right?"  
"Yer he does." Chris nodded in confirmation.  
"I asked dad but he didn't remember why he'd had a visitor, and the day nurse just said she didn't get the guys name but he seemed utterly charming and very handsome." Toby grimaced reaching for his Coke and taking a swig as if to wash away the words. "Do you think I should tell Sar?"  
"No honey, don't worry we'll ask Ollie when he comes into the gallery tomorrow. Best not to worry Sarah in case its nothing." Chris said sighing and falling quiet as Sarah came out of her room fresh from the shower in leggings and an oversize jumper.

"Hey hey. My favourite people come bearing wine and pizza." She said grinning as she ruffled Toby's hair as she walked past him and kissed Chris on the cheek. She smiled and nodded at Antia who raised a manicured eyebrow at her questioningly. "Oh they arrived! Thanks for bringing some!" She said overjoyed at finding the pile on her chair. "Oh these look so good!" She absently reached for a slice of pizza as she flicked through the illustrated catalogue. "Wait, 3 sculpture's? Hes finished the third one already?"  
"Yer I think the poor boy has been working 40 hour days to get it done in time. Its gorgeous though, I saw it this morning when I dropped copies off to him." Chris nodded.  
"Wow. He'd barely even started it when I was there the week before last. He sure does get a move on. Colour me impressed!" Sarah said frowning as she looked at the photograph of the new sculpture.  
"I brought the wall layouts with me, thought you might want to look them over before we start moving stuff around next week."  
"Sure thing. I can't believe how organised we are. Surely we aren't usually this ready this early before a new launch?" Sarah grinned as Chris stuck his tongue out at her.  
"Only when they are my clients darling."  
"Ahh I knew there had to be an excellent reason. Speaking of the devil, have you seen Ollie? I hate not being able to keep track of what he's doing not being in the office."  
"He was in yesterday morning complaining because none of us have keys to your office, but he wasn't in today. Think he mentioned something about an exhibition he wanted to go and look at." Anita said sagely.  
"Wait don't you have keys to my office?"  
"I do, but I wasn't going to tell him that."  
"What was he looking for that he needed to go in my office?"  
"No idea, mumbling something about contracts but I wasn't really paying attention."  
"Tell me what movie you got." Toby said stealing the slice of pizza Chris had been reaching for.  
"Nope."  
Tell me or the pizza gets it."  
"You're holding my pizza to ransom?"  
"My pizza." Toby said laughing as he took a huge bite of it in satisfaction.  
"Treason! Somebody take him to the dungeons!" Anita laughed as Chris pouted and took a different slice instead.  
They sat and talked around the table long after the pizza was devoured and the second bottle of wine was opened. They went through the layouts for the launch party and generally agreed with so much beautiful artwork from Ambrose anything they did would look fabulous.  
"Just put mine into the store room at the back for now. I can always put it up again later if we have room again." Sarah said piling the empty pizza boxes together and carrying them into the kitchen.

"I don't see why you should have to, can't you hang them on the stairs up to the offices or something?" Anita asked exchanging a look with Chris.  
"I don't like having anything on those stairs, invites people to go up where we don't really want them." Sarah replied thoughtfully. "Its fine really, just... don't let Ollie help you move them. He's already torn one."  
"We won't let him near them." Chris reassured her as he stood and walked over to the big TV in the corner and put the film on before flopping down on the sofa as Anita and Toby joined him, leaving space for Sarah on the end where she liked to sit. She came back from the kitchen carrying bowls of popcorn and crisps which she handed out before lighting the mock wood fire and turning the lights out.  
"The film store needs to get some new stuff." Chris said pressing play on the remote.  
"Ohhh cool! I love this movie!" Toby laughed clapping his hands as the familiar Star Wars music filled the room from the surround sound.  
"The classics are the best." Anita agreed.  
As the closing credits stopped and the room fell silent Sarah woke and realised she had been using Chris as a pillow though most of the movie.  
"Oh god, you should have poked me or something!" She groaned getting up and stretching.  
"You looked far too comfortable to poke." He laughed poking Toby instead. "Unlike you. You wriggle far too much."  
"Can't help it." Toby shrugged grinning.  
"I think its bedtime for all of us!" Anita said standing up and stretching herself.  
"The guest bedroom is clean and the sofa bed is still down in the attic if you're staying over."  
"Sounds like a plan! I bagsy the guest bedroom!" Anita cackled running off before Chris could beat her to it.  
"Relegated to the attic. Honestly that woman has no heart." He sighed in mock sadness, despite them all knowing he loved the attic room with the oval window.

Rain poured down the window casting a flickering glow from the city across the wall opposite the bed. She lay there watching patterns form and dissolve like her thoughts.

"You are becoming a regular feature in my Labyrinth Sarah. Careful you don't end up staying too long."  
She looked up at him from where she sat crossed legged on the pile of stone books and frowned.  
"More than thirteen hours? I'm sure you would not keep me a moment longer, I am far too demanding."  
"Never a truer word spoken. My goblin's wouldn't know what to do with you."  
"Perhaps I could spend my time teaching them to paint, elegant portraits of Your Majesty. You seem to enjoy collecting such things."  
"Paintings by goblins. I am horrified by the very thought." He snorted turning away to gaze out at the ruins from their vantage point on the sundial floating almost in the clouds, shrouded by mist in the half light.  
"At least here it is not raining." She said finally getting up to walk over and stand next to him.  
"For now."  
"Why have you taken such interest in Ambrose?"  
"I've no idea what you mean." He replied a little too quickly.  
"Really Jareth, you're a terrible liar. Did you think I wouldn't notice?" She turned and faced him. She was struck by his expression, and fleeting though it was before being replaced by his usual half smirk ,she was saddened by the worry caught in his eyes.  
"Why have you changed time for Ambrose? Theres no possible other way he could have created those three sculptures and finished them in such a short time without... help."  
"Three?"  
"He finished the new one yesterday so Chris tells me. He says it's quite the masterpiece. The photos don't do it justice." She said handing him a catalogue. "Did you really give him more time?"  
"I have no idea what you are talking about. Really Sarah you must think I have nothing better to do with my time. You find it remarkably easy to forget that I am a King, Sarah, with lands and people to rule." He replied airily flicking through the pages ignoring her as she rolled her eyes at him.  
"Jareth." She whispered his name almost hoping he wouldn't hear her. He sighed and tsked. "Its getting worse. Isn't it." She turned again to face him where he now lent lazily against the ornate scrolls of the sundial still looking through the catalogue.  
"It is the nature of things in this place. You should have learnt that by now. We are cruel and capricious. Selfish. Is that not what you called me? The land merely reflects its master." He spat, worry replaced by anger and bitterness.  
"I... I didn't mean those things. I didn't mean them like that."  
"What's said is said."

As he spoke her hand burnt again making her gasp aloud in pain. She tried to hide it, walking away to the other side of the sundial but he followed her in an instant, taking her hand against her will to examine the scar.  
"I don't think..."  
"Do not speak." He said cutting her off before she had really begun. She watched as he took hold of his glove in his teeth, pulling it from his hand whilst he still held her with the other one. He placed his ungloved hand over hers, pressing his palm against the scar making her gasp again as the red hot burning cooled instantly to a cold chill. As quickly as he had held her hand he released her, methodically pulling his glove back on. "It is not healed. I have merely removed the pain for a while." He stood and watched her as she stared at her hand.  
"Thank you."  
"You should go. Being here like this. It is not good for you. Or me."  
"The launch party, you are welcome to come. If you'd like to see the sculptures, but I'm not sure I know how to get back. How do you stop yourself from dreaming?"  
He turned away from her once more to stare out at his Labyrinth. Without saying anything he created a small crystal and tossed it over his shoulder at her. Automatically she reached out and caught it, and felt it pull her from her dream, back to her cold bed where the rain fell endlessly down the window and a smooth crystal in the palm of her hand felt as light as a feather.

He turned and sat down heavily on the pile of stone books looking at the catalogue she had given him. Had this been nothing more than a dream, it should have disappeared when he gave her the crystal. Just like the book throne, and the sundial which lazily floated miles above the Labyrinth. By rights he should be standing on nothing but air, in a dream that was fading. Yet here he sat, on a throne made of stone books, carved from the finest basalt from his own quarries, on a far too large sundial which had a tree growing out the side of it and steps leading off below, looking at a paper catalogue summoned from nothing. The extent of her abilities and how fast she was mastering them without even knowing was staggering, and it filled him with a mix of dread, exultation, worry and fascination in equal measure.


	15. Chapter 15

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

The week before the launch seemed to drag endlessly, for Sarah the days merged, she slept each night dreamlessly and woke each morning feeling more and more exhausted. Ollie had taken to hanging around the studio like a poltergeist getting in everyone's way and causing chaos as he tried to take over the preparations for the launch. Sarah found him sitting in her office at her desk looking though the bills and other documents more times than she liked and had taken to locking the door when she wasn't in there. It was awkward but she couldn't think of any other way to deal with his weird behavior. Anita had taken to walking in the opposite direction as soon as he approached her and Chris had turned from his usual bubbly self into a sullen silent version which worried her more than Anita's avoidance tactics.

Something had to change, and as the week progressed the only real answer that sat in front of her like an unmentionable stain was to sack him. Their relationship was practically nonexistent after the weeks he had been spending practically living in Cassandra's apartment. As she sat for a moment quietly in the embracing darkness of her office she came to the conclusion that really, she was relieved. She grimaced to herself as she automatically compared how she felt when she was with Jareth compared to the feeling she had when she was with Ollie, they barely compared, despite how little time she had actually spent with Jareth. She knew she was stupid for even thinking about "being" with Jareth, but she could always...

"Sarah, you're an idiot." She said out loud, chiding herself for thinking about dreams and wishes where Jareth was concerned. Whatever she was stupidly thinking was out of the question for all sorts of reasons - most of them making her angry and frustrated and sad when they ran through her brain in a virtual list. Sighing she reached across the expanse of her desk and switched on the desk lamp making her squint. In front of her lay a folder of photocopies from her accounts. She truthfully hated stuff like this, she was no accountant, but the figures told no lies, and she had had them privately checked after Anita flagged up the anomalies and the results she had been given on a single sheet of paper now sat in front of her made her feel nauseous.

How did you ask somebody about missing money from the company accounts? How did you work out what the hell they were up to other than sabotage or fraud. What the hell had he been doing speaking to her dad who was in no fit state to be discussing anything to do with the company shares. Her head felt like it was about to explode and reluctantly, having come to no real solution she gave up. Locking the folder away in a filing cabinet in the corner of the office she picked up her sketchbooks and worked her way through the building, checking windows and doors before letting herself out the back door.

In the parking lot Gob appeared from behind a pillar giving her a mild heart attack before accompanying her home and small though he was she was pathetically glad of the company making her heart thump sadly as she remembered how her old dog Merlin had been her constant companion.

She was almost grateful when Cassandra waltzed in on the Friday sporting a lime green pantsuit to drag Ollie - all be it more reluctantly than usual - out of the building for an extended lunch after she ranted at Chris about the fact that her art had been moved to the first floor. Behind her Anita heaved a sigh of relief as the main door closed and sat down with a thump on the chair next to her. Chris appeared only moments later his usual chirpy self handing out mugs of hot coffee.  
"You know..." He began only to stop as Sarah held up her hand.  
"I know, and I'm sorry. I know I have to deal with it, and I will I promise, lets just try and get this weekend over and done with."  
"Actually I was going to say that I've never seen the gallery look more beautiful, but we have 4 of you in here, so naturally it's going to look 4 times better." He smiled looking over to the 3 exquisite sculptures that had been delivered at 7am and placed into the large open space in the main gallery area. Under the soft directional lighting the facets of the polished stone sparkled faintly. Sarah turned and regarded the gallery and nodded. She ignored the slightly odd feeling of having so many paintings and sketches of herself on the opposite wall near the sculptures, but she had to agree despite that. The sculptures, now finished to perfection were exquisite, and the amount of detailing Ambrose had managed to craft and imply in the folds of the cloth left you slightly speechless and his refinement of the faces and hands was lifelike to the point of being uncanny. Frankly they were the kind of sculptures Sarah half expected to come to life at night and wander around the streets kidnapping people, and that was mostly down to Toby making her watch Dr. Who. All of Ambrose's work seemed to have a natural flow and form to them and now framed they looked even better and helped accentuate the other artwork in the room.  
"Magic." Anita said sipping her coffee making Sarah bite her lip and turn to look at her sharply.  
"Except the caterer phoned before to tell us they would be delayed delivering those extra glasses. They said they wouldn't get here til mid afternoon. It's no biggie though really." Chris shrugged.  
"OK, I'm going to go back to the apartment then. I will see you both tomorrow, my bath and I have a date!" Sarah said nodding and picking up her bag. "Really great job guys, you are miracle workers!"  
"See you tomorrow!" Anita waved her off. She missed Chris grinning mischievously at Anita before scuttling off.

* * *

"So, yesterday I had a perfectly acceptable dress in here..." Sarah said walking slowly out of her office holding onto a dress bag. "..and now it contains a completely different dress which I don't have time to change."  
"Hush, Chris chose it and you absolutely MUST wear it." Anita said standing up from behind her desk where she had been fixing her makeup after she had primped and preened Sarah's. "Go, shoo and put it on before everyone's here!" She said ushering her into the loos.  
"You look stunning!" Anita squealed in delight as Sarah appeared from the cramped staff bathroom having rushed into the gallery running ridiculously late after battling with Karen on the phone ranting and the traffic. Truth was, Sarah was stunning, but anybody who wasn't blind could see that she was also pitifully thin and looked sick. The figure hugging long black dress with lace detailing, plunging neckline and exposed back did everything it was supposed to, but Sarah looked haunted, with dark circles under her eyes that no amount of makeup could mask.

"You're just being kind." Sarah whispered as Anita hugged her. "I can't believe there are so many people here this early."  
"Chris and Seb are working their magic not that they need to, Ambrose's work is outstanding and is practically walking out the door."  
"Good! We could do with some good news."  
"I have something to show you." Anita said as they walked down the glass stairs into the milling throng of glamorous and impressed art critics all admiring the beautiful display of Ambrose's work. Sarah paused and frowned noticing several red "sold" stickers on paintings, sketches and the breathtaking sculptures.  
"They sold? Already?" She hissed at Chris as they walked past him.  
"All 3 to the same collector. They were quite adamant that they should have sold stickers on them immediately." He grinned.  
"Ok, what's this thing you wanted to show me?" Sarah asked as they walked towards the rear of the gallery.  
"Please don't be mad. There's somebody who wants to buy some of your paintings." Anita said turning away from the crowd and dropping her voice.  
"How would somebody want to buy any of my paintings? We put them all away."  
"Not exactly..."  
"Anita."  
"It was Chris's idea! Anyhow, this err gentleman, he won't take no for an answer and is demanding he speak to you about them directly." Anita had the grace to blush slightly.  
"Where is he, and what have you done with my paintings?" Sarah asked again trying not to get irritated.  
"In here." Anita said pushing open the ajar door to what was once a small storage room.  
"OK, I'll speak to this man and you can go and do something that's not related to my paintings please."  
"Right! Good luck!" Anita grinned and skipped off into the crowd. Sarah took a deep breath and steeled herself.

"I'm ever so sorry sir, but you've been given the wrong imp..." Sarah stopped mid sentence as she stood in the doorway and stared.  
What had been a storage room was now brightly lit and painted white, her paintings hanging on the walls seemed to glow in an inviting, subtle way. The man stood on the far side of the room with his back to her in a black shirt and suit; but she recognised him instantly without him needing to turn.  
"You came." She said quietly closing the door behind her. "They still aren't for sale though"  
"Everything has a price Precious," Jareth replied still examining a portrait of himself.  
"and I could hardly refuse a personal invitation." He finally turned and regarded her with a critical eye. "Clearly there is a need."  
"A need? A need for what?" Sarah flushed as he walked towards her.  
"An intervention before you speak to anybody in public."  
"What?"  
"Did you look at yourself in the mirror?" He watched her as she immediately put her hand to her hair to check it.  
"Is there something wrong with me?" She whispered. He stood there and watched her squirm then laughed as she huffed in exasperation. "Why do you enjoy taunting me so much?" She asked again turning away from him.  
"Because I can. Not to worry Precious, there's nothing wrong with you that I couldn't fix if I wanted to." He whispered in her ear as he placed his gloved hands on her bare shoulders.  
"But you won't. If you could fix everything you'd fix the Labyrinth."  
"I said you, not the Labyrinth." Jareth sighed turning her back to face him. "You look like death my dear."  
"Wonderful, thank you." She said folding her arms. "My paintings aren't for sale and I'm not interested in your compliments if that's how they are going to be." She frowned as he smirked and walked away from her to look at another painting. Her hand tucked away between her arm and her side throbbed making her want to faint. "I look fine thank you."  
"Yes, but why look just fine when you could look perfect?"  
"You really don't know me do you. When have I ever wanted or asked for perfection? Don't laugh at me or you can leave the way you came."  
"Ahh my dear Sarah. I'm not talking about how you see yourself, I'm talking about how others see you, and right now there is a girl out there practically falling out of her garments to make sure she looks better than you do, because everyone knows your 'boyfriendonabreak' is having an affair with her. Doesn't that make you want to be perfect? To prove them wrong? You don't really want to be called the dowdy little home girl do you?" He watched her as her face fell into sadness.  
"I don't want to compete with Cassandra. I'm just as bad as she is. I'm having an affaire with somebody who was a figment of my imagination." Sarah said sitting down on the bench in the center of the room.  
He continued to watch her, frustrated by her complete lack of willpower and desire to fight for herself.

"I have a gift for you." He said sitting down next to her and taking out the small bottle of perfume from inside his suit jacket. She turned and looked up at him.  
"Will it make me forget everything?"  
"No."  
"Will it make me invisible?"  
"No."  
"Will it make me better?"  
"No. It might make you feel better though."  
"And the price of feeling better?"  
"You sell me 2 of your paintings."  
"Thats it?" She said taken aback.  
"You sound disappointed."  
"I just. Why are my paintings so important to you?"  
"I like them." He said candidly. He frowned as she stood and walked to the door and opened it.  
"Anita, please could you fetch me the sales forms for my paintings please, and a pen." Anita saluted her and hurried off from standing guard at the door.  
"Two, and thats it. Choose two and you pay for them like any other client with real money. Your magic potions can't make me feel better Jareth." She said walking back to him. They stood there staring at each other until a tap on the door announcing Anita's return broke the trance.  
"Here they are!" Anita chimed popping her head around the door waving a pile of documents. "Which ones have you decided to buy? I can't tell you how excited we are to finally meet Sarah's "Goblin King" in the flesh! So how long are you staying in the states? You must stay tonight for the party Chris is dying to meet you." Anita chattered sorting through the papers and not really giving Jareth a chance to reply. Sarah said nothing as he pointed out the 2 largest oils, one of himself and one of the labyrinth, dutifully signing the sales contracts giving Anita a sly grin as he handed the pen back to her.

"Wait!" She gasped dashing out the door and returning a moment later with 3 champagne glasses. "A toast!" She said handing Sarah and Jareth a glass each before raising her own.  
"Good friends and a successful party!" They saluted with their glasses and drank, Jareths eyes not leaving Sarah.  
"Say you will stay for the party!" Anita begged as she gathered the papers back up again.  
"Thats up to Sarah, I'm gate crashing really." Jareth smiled.  
"Don't be silly of course you are welcome to stay; isn't he Sarah! You've not seen each other for such a long time." Sarah nodded quietly.  
"Could you give us a moment?" She asked ushering Anita to the door.  
"Of course, don't take too long though, Ambrose still wants to see you. Here, stick these on." Anita grinned passing Sarah a strip of red "sold" stickers.  
Suppressing a sigh a she turned and resolutely walked past Jareth to stand in front of the painting she had done of the labyrinth, serene in its golden light. With a sense of defeat she stuck a sticker next to the title plaque and turned to go to the portrait finding herself in front of the real version. Silently he took her hand to examine the scar, a frown creasing his forehead before he reached into his pocket and drew out the bottle of perfume, placing it in her upturned hand.

"Hoggle made it for you." He said watching her face light up in almost childish delight.  
"He did?"  
"With some direction, and misdirection from the knight and the rock caller. I'm surprised it made it to me in one piece."  
"You sure this isn't going to make me forget everything?" She asked skeptically unstopping the bottle.  
"If it does I will punish him most firmly." He watched as she dabbed the perfume on her neck and wrists, his senses reeling from its intoxicating aroma that reminded him in all the right ways of the woman who stood in front of him. Sharp, lustrous, delicate and ridiculously addictive all at the same time.  
"I don't really look terrible do I?" She whispered not looking up at him as she asked. Her lack of self confidence touched him enough for him to regret his earlier comments. Instead of replying he touched his hand to her chin, turning her face to his and kissed her. It was almost with relief that she eventually pulled away from him, her face flushed Jareth vaguely wondering how long he could have carried on kissing her without throwing caution to the wind and kidnapping her on the spot. He stood and watched her as his glamor worked its magic, resisting the impulse to pull her back to him to press his lips to the pulse in her throat.  
"You owe me for that."  
"The kiss or the glamor?" She asked raising an eyebrow.  
"I've not decided." He smirked straightening his suit jacket and reaching for her hand again. The livid scar looked less livid, he only hoped the pain she felt from it had lessened as well.  
"I must go and speak to Ambrose. Do I pass the test now?" She stood and glared at him as he gave her the once over.  
"You pass." She shook her head in exasperation then paused and reached up to wipe some of her gloss from his lips.  
"If you stay you behave. No matter how pressed you are to kill Ollie."  
"Is this a new bargain?"  
"No. Its a rule." She replied walking to the door and taking a deep breath before stepping out.


	16. Chapter 16

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

Thank you to everyone who has left reviews and comments over the last few chapters! I'm really glad you are all enjoying it!

* * *

Strangely having Jareth shadowing her gave Sarah more confidence to face the now very full gallery. When they stopped to chat to people he was congenial, even going so far to engage her clients in conversation, encouraging them to buy pieces he picked out hanging on the walls, flattering wives and talking business with husbands. Quietly impressed and relieved she handed him another glass of champagne as they headed over towards where Chris was stood enduring Cassandra muttering at him. On the balcony of the first floor above Sarah had noticed Ollie deeply involved in conversation with two young students, no doubt friends of Ambrose's.  
"Chris, how are things going?" Sarah asked ignoring Cassandra who immediately turned to Jareth.  
"Brilliantly, please make her go away!" He hissed from behind his champagne glass. "You'd better introduce me, I'm wildly jealous Anita got to him first." He continued pouting slightly as Sarah smiled and hugged him before turning back to Jareth who was looking down his nose at Cassandra.  
"Jareth, this is Chris one of my main curators, Chris; this is Jareth, a very old friend." The lie slipped from her tongue easier now that she had said it dozens of times. She grinned as Chris shook hands with Jareth, both appraising each other before deciding all was good.  
"It's about time she introduced you and I have to say, the real life version of you is not a disappointment! We were worried Sarah was making things up in her paintings." Chris laughed as Jareth smirked at the compliment.  
"She has no need to need to embellish anything." Jareth said slyly. He moved closer to her as several people squeezed past behind them on the way to the buffet table using it as an excuse to place a hand on her exposed back wishing he had removed his gloves.  
Cassandra also moved closer to him on the other side, clutching onto his arm with red spangled talons. She was already well on the way to being too drunk to be socially acceptable, but with Chris reluctantly babysitting her, he could at least keep an eye on how much she was drinking.  
"Sarah knows such lovely men. One wonders how someone with her social skills manages to find them. That Ambrose is such a dish." Cassandra laughed snidely not realizing her comment had made both Chris and Jareth frown. Internally rolling her eyes Sarah ignored the jibe, concentrating instead on the fact that Jareths hand on her back was stroking her.  
"I must go speak to Ambrose." Sarah said to relieve the tension catching sight of him speaking to Anita on the stairs. "Come and meet the star of the night." She said turning to Jareth and drawing him away from Cassandra.  
"Insidious woman. I would like to dangle her over the Bog for a few days." He said as they escaped the crush and made their way up the stairs towards the first floor. Here the crowd was slightly thinner so it was harder to avoid Ollie who immediately approached them with a dangerous look in his eye.  
"Sarah why am I having to do your job again?" He spat trying and failing to drag her away from Jareth.  
"What job is that?" She sighed.  
"Nothing." He growled as he stared at Jareth.  
"Jareth this is Ollie."  
"Charmed I'm sure." Jareth said shaking his hand briefly.  
"Ouch stop it." Sarah gasped pulling her hand from Ollies as he caught her scar. "I have to go and speak to Ambrose. You'd better go and keep an eye on Cassandra, shes embarrassing herself and shes your client not Chris's." Sarah said pushing her way past him towards Anita. She missed the glare Ollie gave Jareth as he turned and walked off down the stairs. Holding back tears of pain from her hand she hugged Anita and Ambrose.  
"Ambrose, you must be over the moon!" She said smiling as he took hold of her good hand and kissed the back of it.  
"Eet ees all down to you mia cara. Zey are as enchanteed wiz your beauty as I am. Deed Aneeta tell you? I sell all my sculptures and half my drawings. Jareth my friend, thank you thank you!"  
"Ahh you already met?"  
"Ci ci! Jareth ees the one who buy my sculptures." Ambrose laughed at the shocked look on Sarah's face.  
"You should have told me." She smiled trying to hide her shock turning to stare at Jareth.  
"You didn't ask and its Ambrose's news to tell." He shrugged taking several canapés from a passing waitress with a smug expression on his face.  
"Seems you are on quite a roll for buying art tonight. Let me know if you are going to buy more I'll give you my discount." Chris laughed walking up behind them with a half empty champagne bottle. "Catsknickers is all in a tizzy that shes being ignored. Shes taken to stalking me. Look here she comes up the stairs now. Hope nobody is looking up, she reliably informs me shes going commando tonight. Don't want anybody having a heart attack on seeing her shrubbery, trimmed or not." Chris chortled as he hastily refilled their glasses before scuttling away to hide.  
"Has anybody seen Chris? I seem to have lost him." Cassandra said storming up to them then batting her eyelashes at Ambrose.  
"Not seen him, but look, theres Ollie why don't you go and ask him?" Anita said with a straight face pointing back to the stairs to where Ollie was chatting up another group of students.  
"Excellent idea."  
"Eye 'ope you never leave me alone wiv 'er. She ees scary." Ambrose said watching the retreating back of Cassandra as she stomped off eyeing a new target. "Eye get zee feeling she want to eat me."  
"I promise we won't." Anita laughed.  
"Interesting clientele you have." Jareth said still watching Cassandra.  
"Not mine, Ollies. Nuff said." Sarah muttered taking a swig of her now full champagne glass. "Must stop drinking else I'm going to be asleep in a corner before long." She stared as Jareth removed the glass from her hand and replaced it with a canapé.  
"Problem solved." He shrugged. "Unless you want to have a hangover tomorrow..."  
"No. Thats tomorrow night. We have an after-party party. To celebrate the party. At Sarah's. Pizza is on her." Anita grinned saluting Sarah with her own glass.  
"I see." Jareth responded a little puzzled.  
"Are we all eenvited?" Ambrose asked hopefully.  
"Of course!" Anita nodded, it wouldn't be an after-party party without the main artist we are partying for!"  
"Perhaps you've had enough to drink too." Jareth said amusement colouring his voice.  
"No! Not enough, I have no need to be getting out of bed in the morning, I'm on the late shift." She laughed. "Ambrose, lets go circulate, people are starting to hover deliberately." She turned and grinned in triumph as Ambrose linked her arm in his and moved off into the crowd.  
"Hes far too young for her." Sarah said laughing.  
"I know the feeling. I'm far too young for you too." Jareth replied sighing. He shrugged as Sarah stared at him.  
"Not sure if thats deliberate denial or genuine lack of understanding of "age" Your Majesty." She replied.  
"Deliberate denial. Humans are an excellent example of not acting their age, I simply follow suit. You also have a ridiculously poor reaction to alcohol."  
"Our inferior breeding. We don't have immortality and glitter for blood."  
"How little you know us. Immortality is a figment of the over active human imagination and my blood is as red, and as hot as yours."  
"So the glitter and sparkles are?" She queried as they wandered around the first floor looking at the artwork.  
"Bonus special effects."  
"I feel flattered."  
"Don't be, everyone gets them. They are free."  
"Free? Doesn't everything have a price Your Majesty?" She turned and raised an eyebrow at him.  
"They are free if I say they are free. I am after all a most lenient monarch." He half bowed to her as she laughed.  
"You. Lenient. Theres a statement I never thought I'd hear."  
"Never let it be said I do not provide you with education."  
"Of course not!" She smiled and turned away to speak to some of Ambrose's tutors.  
Across the other side of the room Jareth spied Ollie leading Cassandra up the back stairs towards the offices and ground his teeth. The boy should be fighting tooth and nail for her yet here he was not only completely ignoring her but screwing around under her nose. Jareth did not even see what he himself was doing was tantamount to the same thing. Instead he turned back to Sarah and smiled at her as he caught her eye.  
"Miss Williams, I must say, the faculty are extremely impressed with the collection you are showcasing for young Ambrose. I'm given the impression from him that you've already sold some of his pieces?" Professor Forbes said smiling through his teeth. "Perhaps we need to get our students out like this more often."  
"Real world experiences are very beneficial. I had the same opportunity when I was in England, it's certainly eye opening." Sarah replied knowing exactly what the Professor was aiming at.  
"Are you also an artist Ser?" He asked turning to Jareth.  
"No, merely somebody who likes looking at beautiful things."  
"Ahh a fellow connoisseur." The Professor said sagely as he clapped Jareth on the arm.  
"Indeed."  
"Sarah?" Sebastian called from behind them.  
"Please excuse me a moment." She said as Seb reached the group.  
"Sorry to bother you, we've run out of catalogues on the front desk. Chris said you might still have some in your office?"  
"Oh, yes of course. Let me go get them for you. Just a sec."  
"Perhaps Sebastian should go get them for you?" Jareth said quietly as she made her apologies again to the faculty.  
"No its fine I think I know where they are. It will only take me a moment." She smiled and headed off towards the stairs. Despite the sense of dread he suddenly felt he still had time to admire her as she walked away and quickly ran up the stairs, flashing her slim ankles as she lifted her dress.  
Wasting no time he motioned to Anita.  
"Sarah needs you in her office."  
"OK I'll go in a second."  
"No. Go now." She stared at him then nodded and went.  
"Something up? I came to see about those catalogues." Chris said as he joined Jareth and Seb a moment later.  
"Sarah went to get them. She wanted a quick meeting, you should go up as well." Jareth said staring directly at Chris who frowned then shrugged and headed to the stairs.  
"I think I missed something." Seb sighed. "I didn't think getting some extra catalogues would be that much of a bother." He said apologetically.  
"Not you, just making sure we avoid any problems." Jareth said putting the young salesman at ease. "You look parched have you even had a drink yet?" Jareth asked summoning a waitress and taking a glass of champagne off her tray to hand to Seb.  
"No. Thank you. Sales are excellent, I've never seen so many people wanting to buy artwork like this." He said taking a few swift swigs.  
"Let me go and find the rest of them then, perhaps you should head back downstairs in case anybody needs to speak to you." Jareth mentally urged Seb back down the stairs.  
"You're right. Thanks!"  
As soon as he left Jareth headed straight up the back stairs towards Sarah's office.


	17. Chapter 17

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

Thank you to everyone who has left reviews and comments over the last few chapters! I'm really glad you are all enjoying it!

* * *

In the dark Sarah fumbled in Anita's top desk drawer to find her keys which she had not wanted to lug around with her all night. She should have turned the lights on but couldn't be bothered since she wasn't going to be up here for that long.  
"Sarah, everything ok?" Anita said walking up as Sarah headed to her door.  
"Yep I think so! Just getting those spare catalogues." She went to unlock the door but it was already open which was strange, but she headed in and flicked the lights on to stand and stare in horrified fascination as Ollie and Cassandra hastily tried to get up from the sofa and find their clothes.  
"Oh." Anita said behind her just as speechless. Sarah folded her arms and stood watching them.  
"I thought you said she wasn't going to come up here again tonight?" Cassandra hissed trying to get her dress back on. Ollie glared at Sarah as he pulled his trousers up and slowly started to put his shirt back on.  
"Oh dear." Chris said joining them in the doorway witnessing the scene.  
"Nothing to say for yourselves?" Sarah finally asked raising an eyebrow as Cassandra at least had the grace to flush more than she had already been.  
"Least it wasn't your desk." She heard Chris whisper from behind her. She wanted to laugh at how absurd it all felt and had to struggle against it bubbling in her throat.  
"Cassandra, I regret to inform you that your months probationary period on our books ends on Monday. Unfortunately the gallery has not been able to find a suitable market for your type of art and therefore we will not be renewing our contract with you. I had hoped to discuss this with you on Monday, but perhaps now is a more suitable time since I find you already in my office." Sarah stood and watched a flood of emotions cross Cassandra's face before she turned and hit Ollie on the arm.  
"You said she couldn't do that you bastard!" She screeched. "You think you're better than everyone but we all know you're a frigid bitch, no wonder Ollie has to find somebody else to fuck." She hissed walking across the room and barging past Sarah, Anita and Chris.  
"Anita, please could you make sure she leaves quietly?" Sarah asked calmly as she turned and saw Jareth stood in the hallway watching the proceedings. "We wouldn't want our other guests to be disturbed." She turned back to look at Ollie a mixture of relief and anxiety making her heart pound in her chest.  
"You're fired." She said.  
"What?"  
"For gross misconduct and unauthorized use of company funds. You will be hearing from my lawyer when the company presses charges next week." They stood there and watched him as he tried to think a way though the situation.  
"You must think we're all idiots. You're also dumped in case I need to make that clear." She said trying to keep her voice calm.  
"You are an idiot if you think this is how it's going to go." He said with an evil look in his eye. "You and I will speak about this later." He whispered in her ear as he walked up to the door. "Move." He said to Chris in a tone that brooked no nonsense. Walking past Jareth he paused and then turned back to him without saying anything he laughed in Jareth's face then walked away down the stairs making Jareths blood boil. He forced himself to remain still, though the thought of tripping Ollie up and watching him break his neck falling down the stairs had a certain amount of crude satisfaction.  
"Chris, please make sure they both leave. Call the police if you have to, tell Martin not to let him in. Shit, I should have taken his bloody keys off him." Chris saluted her offhandedly then trotted off down the stairs leaving her and Jareth alone.  
"Now where the hell did I put those catalogues." She continued as though nothing untoward had happened as she turned and started rummaging on the big table by the window.  
"Sarah." Jareth said from the doorway. "Breathe."  
"What?" She stopped searching the table and looked up at him frowning.  
"The catalogues do not matter. Perhaps you are in shock?"  
"I'm fine. Really."  
"I do not think that you are."  
"Well I know I am, in fact I feel better than I have done in ages. I feel..." Sarah paused and looked at her reflection in the dark window.  
"...I feel relieved, and free." She finished shrugging before turning back to him and spying the catalogues on top of a filing cabinet. Walking over towards them she gasped as Jareth stopped her mid way.  
"I do not find it acceptable that you can so lightly brush this aside." He said firmly.  
"Not lightly. Did you want me to cry and make a scene? Poor Sarah, always the victim, her heart broken by somebody like him? Is this what you were waiting for? Is this because of you wanting revenge for me not choosing you when I was 15 years old? If it is Your Majesty you chose a poor vessel to deliver it, and clearly have no idea who I am. I haven't loved him for a long time, if I even ever did. I did my crying years ago, when you weren't here to see it. All I am now is numb." She said brushing past him and picking the pile up. "And tired. Could you lock the door for me?" She said over her shoulder as she headed for the door waiting for him in the corridor firmly stamping on her thumping heart and the turmoil in her head. There would be time for that later. Alone. Shaking his head in consternation he did as she asked taking the keys from her hand and locking the door the conventional way not really sure how to respond.  
Somewhere inside of him he was conflicted, did he want her to feel something of what he had felt? He couldn't deny it. He was vindictive enough, and angry enough to wish that she felt even half of what it had felt for him. At the same time he knew she was putting a brave face on it. Nobody when confronted with their "supposed" boyfriend or girlfriend shagging somebody else on their sofa could say it didn't upset them, surely she wasn't that heartless, or unfeeling. He wanted to shake her, to make her tell him what she thought, to confess to him how much it hurt to be cheated in some way. To be second best. Snidely a voice in his head remarked that he had come second best to a 6 month old baby rather than a low bred minx like Cassandra who had far more weapons at her disposal.  
Instead he kept his mouth shut, now was not the time to have that discussion. Maybe one day in the future.  
She had stopped at the bottom of the stairs and was talking to a couple who seemed quite fond of her, stepping up behind them he smiled carefully as she turned and touched him on the arm, introducing him to her doctor and his wife.  
"Gerry, Melaine this is Jareth, Jareth, this my doctor and my one time therapist." Sarah said cringing slightly. "I really don't think theres a better way to explain that." She said apologising as Jareth shook hands with Gerry and Melaine.  
"Well I keep trying to get you back into my office but you seem to be doing just fine." Melaine said smiling and hugging Sarah. "Thank you for the invites, those sculptures are beautiful. Ambrose told us that you posed for him?"  
"Yes, for my sins." Sarah grinned.  
"Well they are lovely, and the gallery looks wonderful! How are things with you and that young man you were walking out with?"  
"We just split up." Sarah replied shrugging as Gerry looked at her sharply.  
"I'm glad to see you are still doing ok. Hows that hand?"  
"Please, Sarah ignore him he thinks we are always in his surgery." Melaine laughed.  
"So how did you two meet?"  
"Unfortunate family vacations in England. Sarah's mother and mine were friends. We were forced into mutual loathing of seaside towns." Jareth replied lying through his teeth.  
"You never mentioned going to visit England Sarah, I'm jealous, I'd love to go but Gerry refuses."  
"I was really quite young." Sarah said evasively wondering how the hell they were going to dig themselves out of this new pit.  
"Ahhh!" Gerry said snapping his fingers "Thats where I recognise you from! Sarah's drawings!"  
"He made a useful pose reference when I was practicing. I hope you won't mind terribly if I excuse myself though, I must get these catalogues to the front desk. Thanks ever so much for coming tonight!"  
"Its a pleasure, thank you for the invites, now shoo! Take care!" They hugged again before moving off into the crowd.  
"You invited your doctor to the launch party?" He raised an eyebrow as they headed for the glass staircase.  
"They are more family friends than just being my doctors. Melaine, his wife,.. I spent a lot of time in counselling with her after... everything." Sarah turned away from him, shamed by her experiences in the real world. Jareth was struck again by just how much he had missed of this teenaged Sarah as she had struggled to deal with her adventures.  
"Family vacations in England?" She eventually asked pulling him back from his thoughts.  
"First thing that came into my head."  
"Remind me to tell Toby not to ever believe a word you say." Reaching the front desk and she handed the pile over to Sebastian sighing in relief. "Thats all I could find." She said as he thanked her.  
"Sarah." Anita whispered sidling up to her. "They both left. Martin had to act a bit tough but they've gone. Hes going to call in another member of his security team for tonight until we can get the keys back or change the locks."  
"Thank you. I'm sorry you had to witness that."  
"Don't you dare apologise!" She hissed in rage. "To be honest I'm glad we were there. God knows what either of them might have said or done if they hadn't had a disapproving audience." Anita frowned. "Take it easy ok, we're here for you and you should enjoy the rest of the evening!"  
"I will." Sarah smiled picking up a fresh glass of champagne. She turned away as Anita started speaking to Jareth and took a huge swig trying to calm her frayed nerves. Truth be told now she had had a moment to digest what had happened, she was devastated to have found Ollie in her office with Cassandra. More than how upsetting it was she was humiliated and even thinking about it made her flush in shame. Far from being numb she was strung tight with raw emotions that threatened to overwhelm and consume her. She wanted to run and hide somewhere dark and safe but there seemed to be nowhere like that left. Instead she turned excusing herself and escaped to the ladies loo.  
The girl who stood before her in the mirror seemed to be somebody else unconnected to the turmoil she felt inside. Outside she was for all intents and purposes a swan, since nobody could see her paddling frantically below the waterline to stay afloat. She drained the glass of champagne and then touched her lip gloss up rubbing her lips together mechanically rather hoping that nobody would bother her. She retreated into a cubicle. Moments later the outer door opened admitting several of Ambrose's student friends chattering. Did she wait in the cubicle til they left, or should she make a quick polite dash for the door. Indecision waged for what seemed like hours until resolutely she flushed the chain and gave her dress one last straighten before leaving the cubicle and walked over to the sinks to wash her hands. One of the girls tottered into the cubicle directly behind her still chattering to her friends as Sarah washed her hands and left. They didn't seem to notice who she was, which she was ridiculously relieved about. Entering the main gallery again she snagged a fresh glass and a few canapés which she quickly ate in case somebody pounced on her whilst she was eating. As she cleared her mouth with champagne she realised she was starving and almost laughed aloud at how pragmatic her body was.  
"Something amuses you?" His voice whispered from behind her, making the hairs on the nape of her neck stand up.  
"I'm hungry." She admitted shrugging. "I was thinking just how truly basic the human body is. Despite everything it still requires nourishment at the most inopportune moments. I'm almost jealous of Toby having a pizza party at Karens tonight."  
"I'm sure he would rather be here. His mother is... an interesting woman."  
"Ice cold bitch you mean."  
"Well, perhaps something of that nature. She is very hard on young Toby."  
"Not as hard as she was on me. She made my life hell. No wonder I was desperate to escape to a fantasy."  
"Are you trying to call my kingdom a fantasy?"  
"Of course not Your Majesty. Would I do such a thing?"  
"OOH are we roleplaying? Can I join in?" Chris asked as he overheard Sarahs last remark.  
"No, and I'm starving, are canapé's all we have?" Sarah changed the subject.  
"Hmm, I should probably check. What time is it?"  
"Almost Fairy Time." Jareth said with a straight face.  
"Ahh Mr Shakespeare could woo me any day! Lovers to bed indeed!" He grinned. "Let me go see what I can find for you my petal. Also, did I mention? That perfume you are wearing tonight is divine darling. Suits you!" He trotted off again in the direction of the stairs.  
"I do believe that Ollie's departure has made everyone feel more relaxed. I should have fired him months ago."  
"Hindsight is an amazing thing." Jareth said pointedly. He said nothing further as several people approached them to discuss the gallery and some of the paintings with Sarah. He left them to it and sidled over to Anita who had ensconced herself on a stool behind the front desk. He leaned casually against the desk and stared at her thoughtfully until she squirmed.  
"What? Have I got pen on my face?" She asked grimacing and rubbing her cheeks.  
"No you are as fine as a rose my dear."  
"Then quit staring at me, you should be doing that to Sarah." She replied sticking her tongue out at him and laughing.  
"Is this entirely normal?"  
"What?" She frowned in confusion at his cryptic question.  
"Nights like this making people a little crazy."  
"Probably just the champagne. Or wait, its a full moon, that always makes people fall off the crazy wagon. My father used to swear blind he went insane every full moon." She watched Jareth as he narrowed his eyes at her.  
"I do believe you are whats the phrase, 'pulling my leg'."  
"A little." She grinned again. In any other company people would remark how pretty she was, her pale blue eyes sparkled with mischief and her blue black hair curled seductively framing her face. He mused to himself that perhaps he should "encourage" Ambrose to make her his next subject. A sculpture of her would fit quite perfectly in his salon.  
"You're doing it again."  
"Sorry." He smiled at her charmingly. "Men can not help but look at beautiful women."  
"Flattery gets you everywhere."  
"I think you should concentrate on Ambrose." He taunted her as she flushed.  
"Hes too young for me really, but he is rather handsome isn't he." She said turning her gaze back to Ambrose who was chatting to Chis and his tutor across the room. "Anyhow I think he likes one of his classmates."  
"I'm sure you'd have no problem changing his mind if you wanted to." Anita blushed more as the man in question followed Chris back to the desk.  
"I feel like I not sleep for weeks. So joyous. I must thank you my dearest Aneeta, you work so ard to elp me and make my paintings look beautiful. You are perfect 'ostess." He said reaching over the desk and claiming her hand to kiss the back of it.  
"Really its nothing." She blushed furiously.  
"Nonsense, eet not nozzing. Look ow appy everyone ees. Even my Professor ees appy! He say you spend time wif eem tonight to make sure everyfing perfect." Anita sat and stared at him watching his lips move. His Italian accent was heavier from more than a few glasses of champagne but she couldn't have cared less. She smiled as he kissed her hand again then moved off with Chris who was smirking like the Cheshire cat. Minutes later she shook herself and refilled her glass from a half open bottle she had hidden behind the desk.  
"I know he was talking to me, but I have no idea what the hell he was saying. I hope it was something nice."  
"You're smitten." Jareth pushed his empty glass at her so she could refill it. "Share a cab when you go home. That always works."  
"Is that what you did with Sarah?"  
"No."  
"How do you know it always works then?"  
"Because."  
"Thats not an answer."  
"Its a type of answer, have you been taking lessons from Sarah? Always asking questions."  
"She learnt it from me. Everything she knows she learnt from me. Wasn't I a good teacher?" Anita laughed as Jareth smirked and shook his head in disbelief. "You are staying a while aren't you? In the city that is. Sarah was blown away that you came to the show tonight, totally wasn't expecting that. Not seen her so happy for... well ages. It must be bad if I can't remember the last time she was this happy to see an old flame."  
"What makes you think I'm an old flame?"  
"PERLEASE! We weren't all born yesterday. She paints huge pictures of you, if nothing happened when you two were teenagers I'll eat my hat. ANNDDdd furthermore, if nothing happened then it was not down to Sarah not being absolutely..."  
"Sarah being absolutely what?" Sarah asked raising her eyebrow at Anita who grinned and shook her head.  
"Fabulous and gorgeous of course!" Anita said sticking her tongue out at Sarah.  
"Sorry darling, all I could find is a half eaten fruit basket. It was meant to be for Mrs P but catsknickers must have broken into it." Chris said arriving with a pink and purple basket of fruit bearing grapes, bananas, kiwifruit and of all things peaches.  
"MMMmmm peach!" Anita said picking one out and taking a huge bite not noticing Sarah's suddenly ashen face as she almost opened her mouth to shout at her to stop. Standing right next to her Jareth leant in and placing a cool gloved hand on the back of her neck whispered to her.  
"Unless Ambrose has spiked that peach she has nothing to worry about. Why must you associate everything with something bad?"  
"Something bad? Isn't being drugged and losing all your memories a bad thing?" She hissed back. Jareth shrugged and reached over for a peach himself, taking a firm bite from the juicy pith.  
"They are good. You sure you don't want any?" He asked holding the peach out to her.  
"Oh Sarah doesn't like peaches darling, they make her sick." Chris said between a mouthful of banana.  
"Sure?" He offered again. She looked at the peach baring a perfectly crisp bite out of its flesh and turned away before she gagged shaking her head.  
"I'm going to go walk around make sure everyone is still happy." She said wandering off leaving Jareth frowning a little, a strange pang of rarely felt guilt making his heart thump heavily for a moment.

* * *

Authors Note: Really, THANK YOU to everyone who has commented, I'm sorry I'm keeping you all in suspense! Whilst I have written quite a lot of the next chapters you're going to have to hang on with me whilst I edit and review them to make them as easy to read as possible with what for me is a difficult subject to write about. (You will understand what I mean when you get to read them) Theres been a lot of plot setting going on rather than getting on with the whole point of this which is Sarah and Jareth's relationship and where its heading, but sometimes its nice to get lost on a side path and finding a pretty courtyard to have lunch in rather than reaching the center of the Labyrinth first time, I hope you guys brought snacks and string! ;) Lanny xxx


	18. Chapter 18

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

* * *

Walking away she heaved a sigh of relief and made her way over to the main doors and Martin who was wishing a couple a good evening as they stepped out into the drizzle. Looking out into the street through the glass everything shone in the streetlights, washed clean.  
"I'm sorry you had to deal with Ollie and Cassandra, I hope he didn't threaten you." She said as Martin turned and gave her a quick hug.  
"I'd like to see him try. Don't you worry yourself Sarah, we'll make sure he can't get back in. I've got a locksmith coming in first thing and I've got extra staff coming in half an hour for night shift. Frankly I think hes far too drunk to do anything but go home and sleep it off."  
"I hope so. I can't afford to pay for insurance payouts if he breaks in and destroys any artwork." Sarah sighed biting her lip in anxiety.  
"Don't fret." He said again.  
"Hopefully the free alcohol has run out so people will start leaving soon." She said smiling as she left him, spying Sebastian by the stairs. She caught his eye as he was getting an older gentleman to sign a sales form and hung around on her own to wait for him. She took a moment to look around the gallery, her beloved pride and joy and felt again the sick thought of Ollie maliciously damaging everything she and her team had worked so hard to create. The crowd had thinned out, revealing glimpses of the beautiful artwork on the walls lit by specialist lighting, and gracing the main floor, head and shoulders above the guests and art critics stood Ambrose's beautiful sculptures. Despite not really associating them with herself she had been constantly told how lifelike they were and how much they reflected how stunning she herself was. She shrugged the compliments off, knowing full well what lay beneath her tailored dress was far from perfect and it was Jareths glamor that they found beauty in.

It always came back to him. No matter how she turned or tried to make her own way, no matter how many years she had spent running away from him, now here she was back staring at him across the room. She flushed as she realised she really was staring at him across the room, and as if she had called his name he stopped talking to Anita and Chris and deliberately turned to look at her right back. He flashed her his characteristic smirk then continued his conversation. Sebastian saved her by walking over waving the sales sheet.  
"I can't believe it. Thats my 7th sale tonight. At this rate we'll have to go out and find more art tomorrow."  
"Good commission too right!" Sarah joked high fiving him.  
"Too right!"  
"I have to ask, do you think you could give Chris a hand next week? We're going to be a bit short staffed."  
"Sure thing! Anything you need you know that. Just get Chris to call me."  
"Sarah, I'm going to share a cab with Ambrose, he's wanting to head home now his friends have gone, is that ok?" Anita asked heading over to them.  
"You go girl!" Sarah grinned.  
"Wait let me give you this." Sebastian said handing over his paperwork.  
"Great let me run this upstairs and grab our coats."  
"Pop them all in a pile, I want to take them home with me." Sarah said as Anita nodded and scurried off.  
"Sara mia cara, now I take Aneeta 'ome. She ees tired and a leetle drunk no?" Ambrose laughed walking over to them and taking hold of Sarah's hand.  
"Ay can not begeen to thank you enough! Eye see you all tomorrow night!" They waved and hugged as Anita helped Ambrose on with his coat and piled out the door into a cab, Sebastian leaving straight after along with a good throng of people. Sarah returned to the main desk happily finishing off the rest of Anita's champagne feeling the almost happy buzz of steadily getting more drunk knowing she would regret it later. As people made their way to the front of the gallery on their way out they said their goodbyes allowing Sarah to steadily work her way through the glass and then as nobody was looking she drained the rest of the bottle from under the desk back into her glass.  
"Finally!" Chris sighed slumping down across the desk as Martin closed and locked the front doors. "I feel like tonights lasted 13 damn hours not 4."  
"Perhaps it did and you just didn't realise how quickly 13 hours can slip right past you." Sarah responded somewhat philosophically before yawning.

"So what happens now?" Jareth asked from the chair behind her.  
"Now?" She repeated confused.  
"Now we go home darlings and clean up tomorrow." Chris said firmly standing up again.  
"You mean we go home and I stay in bed tomorrow and let my awesome staff clean up." Sarah said laughing.  
"You deserve it sweety if you wanted to." Chris said shrugging as he walked up stairs to fetch their coats and bags.  
"Sarah, extra security are here, this is Andrew and Ben." Martin said opening the front door again and letting the 2 older men in both wearing the same security badges as Martin.  
"Brilliant, I appreciate you coming over at short notice." She said walking over and shaking hands. "Martin will be able to take you over our security procedures." She glanced up as the metal shutters slid down to protect the windows. "Any problems my mobile number is on the list in the top draw of the front desk." She said as Chris helped her into her coat.  
"We shouldn't have any problems Ma'am. Have a good evening." Ben said tipping his cap to her as Chris and Jareth followed her to the door where Martin stood with his keys. She took a moment to give his arm a quick squeeze in thanks before dashing out into the rain to one of the waiting cabs calling night to Chris who got into a second cab behind them. Sarah gave her address to the cabby then settled back into the seat, suddenly very aware of Jareth sitting so close to her, his arm thrown casually over the seat behind her. She closed her eyes letting the buzz of alcohol take over for a few moments in the silence.  
"Thank you." She said as the cab stopped at a red light, rain on the windows making the neon lights dazzle her eyes. She turned towards him, catching his profile outlined in a haze of green light as the cab moved forwards. "I hope tonight wasn't too much of a nightmare."  
"I found the experience, interesting." he replied turning and looking back at her. "Despite the slight issue of;"  
"Don't." She sighed stopping him. "Don't even say his name. I'm so tired of everything being made shit because of him."  
"Very well." He returned to watching the city slip past them in the rain until they reached her building. He watched her pay the fare before holding the door open for her and helping her out the cab.

The cold air and rain hit her squarely in the face making her gasp and look up frowning as her head spun.  
"Oh dear. I think tomorrow is going to be a pre hangover party day." She sighed, glad Jareth still had hold of her good hand. Somewhere, beyond her throbbing head the scar was a spike of pain as she caught it closing the cab door behind her making her swear.  
"Sarah."  
"I'm fine." She let go of his hand and regretted it as she tottered across the street towards her apartment building wondering why she hadn't changed into her comfortable and less dangerous sneakers before leaving the gallery. Her keys stubbornly refused to unravel themselves properly after she managed to find them at the bottom of her bag and as much as she hated it she didn't complain as he reached around her to take the keys out of her hand. She stood and shivered as his other hand brushed across her exposed back as he let her into the building.  
Getting into the lift went without a hitch, but as it started moving it lurched making her grab for the hand rail, her bag dropping from her shoulder. She blushed, hating the feeling of not being 'with it' as Jareth leaned at ease against the other wall, watching her with a smirk on his face.  
"Stop laughing at me."  
"Would I do that?"  
"Yes. You would."  
She made it down the corridor without falling over but had to wait for him to stroll up behind her to unlock her front door since he still had hold of her keys.  
"Thanks." She murmured before gratefully stepping over the threshold. Walking over to her sofa she sank with unladylike grace into the cushions so she could remove her shoes and dumped her bag on the floor hoping she hadn't mussed up the paperwork she had brought home with her too much. The world quietly continued to mind its own business, spinning away as she clutched her head.  
"Here, drink this." Jareth said appearing next to her with a glass of water.  
"Thank you again."  
"You're welcome." He replied watching her as she sat up and drank before taking the glass off her. Leaving it on the coffee table he walked idly over to the windows to watch the rain, for once at a loss to know what to say to her.  
With the onset of hangover regret, the fierce embarrassment and shame of the evening once again reared its head. She tried to remember that she was relieved and glad it was over and that she didn't care but tears began to form regardless, even speaking sharply to her emotions couldn't make them stop.  
"Its not fair." She whispered.  
"And yet I still find myself wondering what your basis of comparison is. The world has never been fair and never will be. Mine or yours." He said with some regret. The sound of her weeping tugged at long cold heartstrings making him turn almost automatically, picking her up to carry her to her room. Once there he lowered her legs to the floor so she could stand and yet she remained clinging to him as she sobbed, her arms wrapped round his neck and her head on his shoulder. He didn't complain, being this close to her was like a drug as her aura surrounded him. This close he could also smell her new perfume which was particularly intoxicating now the scent had warmed and bloomed on her skin. He wanted to do all the things he knew he shouldn't do, was forbidden to do. That dark voice in the recesses of his head laughed at her torment, rejoicing in the downfall of his enemy glad to know she now felt as he had. He quashed those thoughts, she was somehow no longer his enemy, no longer to blame for what had happened; at least no longer the only one to be blamed. Automatically he ran his hand over her soft hair, soothing her as she continued to weep.

"I am surprised you don't blame me for what happened." He said eventually. His statement made her pause, breaking away slowly before looking up at him questioningly.  
"Was it because of you? Did you do this to hurt me?"  
"No."  
She turned from him to reach for a tissue off her dresser to wipe her tear streaked face and blow her nose.  
"It would have been beneath you if you had. There is nobody to blame but myself for this. I trusted him, and I shouldn't have. It seems I have a long history of trusting the wrong people, and not trusting the right people."  
"You lied to me."  
"What?" She looked over her shoulder at him.  
"You told me you did not care that he had betrayed you. Yet here you are." He raised an eyebrow as she shook her head defiantly.  
"No. I didn't lie to you. You just didn't understand what I meant." She turned back to him and looked him squarely in the eyes, trying not to get lost in his gaze. "I told you, I... do not love him any more. I am not upset because he hurt me like that, I am ashamed that everyone else had to see it happen, he chose the most public location and the worst possible time for his display. You were lucky Your Majesty. There is only one other person in the world who witnessed what you call your betrayal, and shes standing right in front of you having never told a soul. Tomorrow I will have to face my friends and my colleagues knowing that they know of my shame, and they will pity me, because they think I am an idiot to have let it happen." She sighed and broke their stare looking down at her scarred hand which shook. "I am an idiot."  
"I only hope you don't expect me to disagree." Jareth replied folding his arms.  
"Of course not. You knew I was an idiot a long time ago."  
"There is more to it than that."  
"Yes. There always is." She sighed again walking past him to go into her bathroom. She half expected him to be gone by the time she reappeared in an oversize t-shirt and shorts after she had undressed and brushed her teeth, but he was still there, watching the rain by the window.  
"I need to show you something." She said breaking the silence, his look of concentration turning into a frown as he looked over at her.  
"I hope its nothing to do with that hideous T-shirt you are wearing."  
"No, its a painting." She carefully went back out into the lounge and across towards her studio trying not to walk into anything in the dark. She turned a lamp on and shone it at the covered easel before carefully uncovering the painting as he joined her. Together they stood and stared at it in silence.  
"This isn't what I painted." She whispered shivering.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Positive. I've never, not even my nightmares. When I left it the other morning it was just a painting of the Labyrinth, the way it is now, broken, but it wasn't... this." She shook her head shutting up as she stared at the tormented, twisted shapes that seemed to bulge and grow in the scene which looked rather like somebody had melted both the canvas and paint.

"Is this whats going to happen if I can't fix it? Is this the thing thats killing me too?" She held her hand out to him again to show him the livid scar which seemed to have also grown in size, dark red lines radiating from it, no longer faint traces, but bold like a child had drawn zigzag lightning from it in red felt tip pen all the way up her arm to her elbow. "I'm frightened." The tears fell again, unhindered and unstoppable.  
Her fear was something he had never felt before on such a scale, Jareth himself had never been afraid of anything in his existence and found the emotion inexplicably exhausting.  
"Precious one, you have nothing to fear, but the fear itself. I will remove this, thing and put an end to it." He said removing his gloves and placing her hand in between his own, removing the pain. She whimpered as the red lines faded again, still there, and worse than before, but fainter. She felt utterly drained, not just frightened by the painting and the scar but frightened for the Labyrinth, and for its King, and it was not a fear that so easily faded.  
"What happens if I can't fix it?" She asked again as he clicked his fingers, making the painting disappear.  
"I have no answer to that. Not yet anyway. You need to rest."  
"I could probably walk you know." She whispered in his ear as he picked her up again to return her to her room.  
"Probably, but would you deny a King his small pleasures?"  
"Carrying weepy girls to their bed is a common thing for Your Majesty to do?"  
"Just this weepy girl." He replied as he placed her on top of her covers, watching as she wriggled and pulled them over her, setting herself. "Good night Sarah."  
"You'll wait,.. till I'm asleep?" She queried, hoping he would say yes, her heart thudding heavily before he nodded, walking over to the window again making her sigh in strange relief.  
"Sleep." He said again watching her watch him in the windows reflection. She nodded sadly and closed her eyes, waiting for the darkness to claim her, for once not needing the sleeping tablets on her bedside table.

* * *

"She really doesn't know does she."  
"Know what? Haven't you learnt to knock yet Anyetta?" Jareth sighed, banishing the crystal allowing him to watch over Sarah at the interruption of Anyetta storming into his study.  
"What happened after she refused your offer. She doesn't have any idea of what you had to face after. Why haven't you told her?"  
"Would it make a difference if I did?"  
"It might make her a little more charitable towards you, a little more grateful for what was offered, and a little more ashamed of what she caused, what she destroyed."  
"What did, and did not happen here in this realm, is nothing she ever needs to know about. Since you've clearly been eavesdropping on private conversations you should know that telling her that kind of information would be pointless, and would do nothing but bring up.. memories, that I in particular do not wish to relive. Thank you very much."  
"Good." Anyetta said smiling in relief.  
"Good?" Jareth looked up at her in anger.  
"Yes. Good. I had to be sure."  
"Sure of what? Damn your word games woman." He said slamming his hand down on the desk and rising to his feet in agitation.  
"I had to be sure that you no longer held any hate for her in your heart. If you still wanted revenge Jareth, this moment would have presented a perfect opportunity to, what is that phrase, drive the knife home?" Anyetta watched as he grunted before walking over to the balcony to watch the sun setting over the devastated landscape.  
"She will find out eventually."  
"I will cross that bridge if it ever happens, when it happens. Do not think to stir up trouble Anyetta, even you are not immune to punishment if you overstep yourself."  
"Of course Your Majesty." She said bowing to him, her hand on her heart in a show of compliance.  
"You tell them I grow weary of their games Anyetta. Tell them if she ends up dead because of their meddling I will hunt each of them down one by one." He didn't see her look up in alarm at his words.  
"I... will, Your Majesty. If I should happen across them. Even I do not see them often." She said wryly. "They will not take kindly to being threatened."  
"I no longer care. This is the second time they have placed their hands on my affairs and I will no longer be a puppet performing according to their whims. Nor will I allow them to use her as a pawn in their game. If I must intercede to protect her against them I will not hesitate and I will use whatever force necessary. You tell them that." He stated, trying to contain his anger. Instead he summoned the twisted painting to him, making sure Anyetta saw what was on the canvas, he caught sight of her face, pale in horror at what she saw before he burnt it with magical fire until not even ash remained. The display was only for show, for Anyetta already knew just how powerful the Goblin King truly was but the contents of that painting should not have ever existed, and its existence frightened her into submission far more than his threats. She nodded and backed out of his study closing the door behind her, worried.


	19. Chapter 19

DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.  
All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

**CHAPTER WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC SCENES OF VIOLENCE! PLEASE BE WARNED IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED OR UPSET - THIS IS NOT EASY READING!**

* * *

She woke slowly, mercifully not feeling hung over. She paused as she showered, wondering if Jareth had done something in the night as she slept to cure her hangover. It was thoughtful of him if he had, after last night she would have preferred to be completely numb regardless of what she had to take to achieve that effect. Her hand had begun throbbing again as the hot water ran over it but she tuned the pain out. Dressing in a comfortable shirt and skirt she padded with still wet hair about the apartment, pottering as Anita called it doing not much of anything. She picked up her sketchpad and then put it down again, unable to make her mind up about what she wanted to sketch. She tidied idly not really putting much effort into it and eventually gave up, sitting down on the sofa to vegetate for a while. Her mind seemed to be a blank, refusing to dwell on anything of any importance leaving her wondering if she had consumed far too many antidepressants in the night, but when she forced herself to get up and check she found she had not touched them, or her sleeping pills, maybe she was suffering from withdrawal rather than overdose. Huffing in annoyance with herself she headed back into the lounge leaving the tablets on her dresser untouched.

She packed away Toby's things on the table and scattered across the sofa, rolling her eyes as she noticed he had left his homework. It made her suddenly realise just how used she was to having her brother stay with her and she missed his infectious laugh when he was gone.  
For a time things had been better with Ollie staying with her as well but that had lasted only a few months. It was hard not to regret the loss of companionship yet she censored her own mind telling herself over and over it was better this way.  
Taking her own paperwork from her bag over to the table she began to work through the sales receipts from the previous night, rather overwhelmed that Ambrose's entire collection had been sold to no more than a handful of delighted customers. She frowned at Jareth's lazy scrawl on the bottom of one piece, his handwriting as smooth and sleek as the king himself. Absently she ran a finger over his signature. Surely even a goblin king wouldn't renege on a signed bill.  
She flushed as she remembered his kiss from the night before as they had stood in the small store room that Anita and Chris had transformed for her to hang her paintings in. How he had spent the entire time complementing the guests at the launch using all his charm and charisma to delight and entertain them whilst staying constantly by her side. Attentive Anita had said remarking that he seemed to enjoy making her blush as he teased Ambrose about making her his muse.  
It still rankled that he had managed to make everyone instant fans, further succeeding when finally he had twisted her arm into selling him the other paintings of both himself and the labyrinth to go with the one he had already won off her.  
If only her friends knew the real truth, but then she could imagine them saying anybody was better than Ollie and he was a king to boot.  
Shaking her head in annoyance of being sidetracked again she put the bill to one side with the others intent on finishing up so she could go start a new painting when the scar on her hand spasmed in pain. Snatching it to her chest in a fist she breathed in deeply trying to control the urge to cry before finally reaching over to her bag to find some pain killers. Still rooting around she heard the main door open and close.  
"You forgot your homework." she said pulling herself upright expecting it to be Toby coming home in his lunch hour to collect it.  
"No but I think you forgot something." Ollie said dangling a spare key in his fingers as Sarah froze.  
"You're the last person I expected to see today." She managed to say eventually as she watched him cross the room and place a folder of documents on the table.  
"Really? I didn't think you were that naive, I told you we weren't done yet." He said opening the folder and placing papers before her. Looming over her he tapped the top document. "You are going to sign this." he said reaching over her and dragging her pen across the table.  
Picking the papers up she leaned back in her chair in a semblance of casual ease before beginning to read. In stark amazement she realised they were legal documents signing over her father shares in the gallery to Ollie.  
"You must be joking!" She spluttered slamming the papers back down again and glaring at him. "You were caught red handed screwing Cassandra in my office and you've been embezzling company funds for which I fired you with good cause and you think I'm going to let you rob my fathers shares from him for what was it... 'years of loyal work for the company'?! You must be fucking insane!" His response was a full armed slap that sent her reeling across the table.  
"You are going to sign them and then you are going to give me everything else I want." He snarled grabbing hold of her arm and pulling her back towards him. "You are going to behave like a good little bitch or I am going to teach you a lesson you won't forget about obedience."  
"Fuck you!" Sarah spat trying to pull herself away from him.  
"All in good time." He grinned pulling her out if her chair and across the table scattering papers across the room.  
She fought like an animal, biting and scratching at him but he was stronger. As he planted his fist across her cheekbone again she vaguely wondered if he had broken her jaw as she saw stars.  
"I think I am going to enjoy teaching you your lesson." He smirked tearing at her t-shirt and skirt making her scream again. Her kicking caught him in the stomach temporarily winding him but before she could think of moving herself he was back on top of her fighting to immobilise her hands.  
In a rage he threw her to the floor, the vase of flowers from Ambrose smashing and cascading flowers across the marble. In a daze with her head swimming she struggled to rise, a flower entwining itself in her fingers sticky with her own blood. Thinking of nothing else but the pain she cried out again as he backhanded her.  
"Please stop!"  
"I told you but you didn't listen! We are done when I say we are done!" he snarled tearing at her skirt as she tried to stop him. "Nobody breaks up with me Sarah and you are a silly fucking bitch if you think you're going to be the first!" She struggled madly again trying to fight him off and only succeeded in receiving another blow across her face. The world swam again and without further thought she wished herself away from him. In the infinite seconds between here and there with a surreal clarity she looked on in terror as Toby let himself into the apartment, then she was tangled in rose vines that caught her skin and clothes as she struggled to stand up. Slamming her fists against the stone wall she wailed.  
"Take me back please, please take me back! I have to save Toby!"  
Wind tore her breath away but she didn't care, all she wanted to do was take Toby to safety. Her entire body shuddered in pain and adrenaline and fear but she didn't stop clawing at the wall even as Jareth appeared behind her in a fury.  
"I warned you! Ignorant foolish girl I warned you!" In a white rage he didn't even notice the blood and her torn clothes and her bruised, tear-stained face until she turned only half hearing him. Stumbling towards him she begged again for mercy.  
"Please Jareth! I have to save Toby I..."  
The rage in his eyes changed as he caught her and realised what a state she was in.  
As he took in her injuries his heart broke, any remains of his anger and hate was once and for all devoured by his love for her. In the same instant his wrath was redirected at Ollie. The man would pay for his crimes. He held Sarah upright as she staggered again.  
"You came here even though you were forbidden to do so. Your life is forfeit. Mine to do with as I please." he said struggling to control his emotions as she gaped at him in confusion mutely shaking her head.  
"No! You can't! Please, I have to go back for Toby." she whimpered. "You promised to keep him safe!" She accused him.  
"It is the law." She looked up into his eyes and saw deep sadness, and as he gazed back at her he finally saw understanding and horror dawn in her eyes.  
"There must be something..." She pleaded.  
"Submit to me as your King. You will be a subject of this realm, bound by my law."  
"And if I said no?" She whispered.  
"All ties will be broken. There is no third chance Sarah. You would be placed in the darkest deepest oubliette this realm has, and left to die. The Labyrinth would be destroyed without a Champion, and your brother would have to look after himself as best he can. I can not change the laws." He said, his stare turning icy as she looked away and took a deep breath.  
"Anything to save him, I couldn't bear to see him hurt... I submit, to save them both." At her words, magic began to swirl around them both, making her gasp again.

In another place and time Jareth would have rejoiced, instead it felt like defeat all over again. This was not how he wanted it to be. This pitiful young woman, barely able to stand on her own two feet before him, was a shade of her true self. Looking at her forest green eyes, now dulled in pain it cut him to the core as she accepted his offer, they both knew she accepted not because she wanted to, but because she had no other choice.  
"Do you trust me Sarah?" He whispered placing a hand on her tearstained and bloodied cheek making her look at him properly until she nodded. Holding her as he drew them both to their feet he took a calming breath, then whispered in her ear weaving the magic around them as he spoke, binding her to him with irrevocable finality.  
"Sarah Isabelle Williams I forbid you from ever entering my labyrinth without my permission. You no longer have sanctuary in these walls or this kingdom unless I bring you here myself or invite you directly and take back these words." he resolutely pulled himself from her embrace as her face mirrored her shock and distress.  
"This time, it will be twice as bad. Forgive me." Her hand reached out for him in a desperate plea for help as he pushed her backwards between the veils and touched nothing but air.  
"Jareth!"

Opening her eyes she saw Ollie reach out and grab her arm forcing her back to the table, scattering letters and pens across the wooden surface.  
"Fuck you!" Sarah spat trying to pull herself away from him.  
"All in good time." He grinned pulling her out if her chair and across the table pushing the chairs across the room.  
She fought like an animal, biting and scratching at him but he was stronger. Planting his fist across her cheekbone again she vaguely wondered if he had broken her jaw as she saw stars.  
"I think I am going to enjoy teaching you your lesson." He smirked tearing at her top and skirt, making her scream again. Her kicking caught him in the stomach temporarily winding him but before she could think of moving herself he was back on top of her fighting to immobilise her hands.  
In a rage he threw her to the floor the vase of flowers Ambrose had given her smashing and cascading the delicate blossoms across the marble. In a daze with her head swimming she struggled to rise, a flower entwining itself in her fingers sticky with her own blood. Thinking of nothing else but the pain she cried out again as he back handed her.  
"Please stop!"  
"I told you but you didn't listen! We are done when I say we are done!" he snarled tearing at her skirt as she tried to stop him. "nobody breaks up with me Sarah and you are a silly fucking bitch if you think you're going to be the first!" She struggled madly again trying to fight him off and only succeeded in receiving another blow across her face. The world swam again and without further thought she wished herself away from him. Nothing happened. Bile rose in her throat as she opened her eyes to find Ollie standing over her laughing.  
"You are such an idiot believing in fairytales Sarah. Welcome to the real world." He spat grabbing hold of her foot as she tried to crawl away from him. Crying out in pain her hand found a shard of glass from the broken vase and wildly she slashed at him. He moved out of her reach and instead kicked her in the stomach making the breath woosh from her lungs. In a haze of agony trying to breathe again she was helpless to stop him as he dragged her by her hair to her feet. Her wrist was slammed against the edge of a bookshelf making her drop the piece of glass before he pushed her back against the wall where the back of her head connected with an abstract sculpture with a sickening crunch. Daylight vanished into pitch black as she felt her legs give way and the floor rush up to meet her. His laughter ringing in her ears.  
"Sarah I forgot my homework!" Toby yelled as he let himself in with his key, the goblins merrily bouncing in before him like a herd of pets. The scene he was met with made him drop his bag and scream. "What have you done you bastard! SARAH!" He ran across the room towards his sister who lay half naked in a pool of blood on the floor. In 2 strides Ollie had left his game and turning to Toby punched him hard across the face. Toby fell to the floor cracking his head on the edge of the table leaving him in a daze but not before he had screamed in his head for Jareth, and for the goblins to get Ollie as he ran from the room towards the stairwell. The goblins leaped into action, flowing like a wild untamed beast after Ollie as Gob scuttled over to Sarah, whimpering and patting her cheek like a confused child.

An almighty sense of déjà vue washed over the goblin king as he reached across his desk for a map. His hand paused in mid grasp as his sense of time reasserted itself. Without knowing why, he knew that he had reordered time. Finding out what for was now the priority. Summoning a crystal orb he searched for Sarah but couldn't find her, that in itself alarmed him. Something else niggled at him, a promise. To save Toby. The orb changed and showed the young man walking down the street towards Sarah's apartment. Nothing amiss however with a click if his fingers he summoned a group of small goblins who normally spent time with the boy and ordered them not to leave his side and to protect him should he need it. The goblins were gone in an instant and in the orb he saw Toby greet Gob and the others as he strolled on towards the apartment block.  
The orb flickered at an unspoken command showing Anita and Martin locking the gallery up. Meaning Sarah must be at home. Without sparing further thought on what he should be doing Jareth walked through the veils and followed Tobys footsteps giving him enough time to enter the building and go up the stairs before him. Finally entering the lobby he smiled and walked over to the security desk, introducing himself as an old friend of Sarah and Tobys.  
Catching sight of the game on the small tv set in the corner he broke into an easy conversation with the security guard professing to be a fan himself though he doubted Sarah would want to watch the game on her tv. He didn't know why he paused to talk to the guard, only that it felt right. He was used to listening to his instincts.  
"Toby's a fan but you know women." Jareth said laughing sharing mutual misery with the guard. In his head he heard Toby call him, at the same time his goblins shrieked in fury over Toby being attacked and from the stairwell came the sound if pounding feet. Both he and the guard immediately turned to watch as Ollie slammed through the stairwell doors straight into Jareth who managed to keep upright but with a deft twist sent Ollie sprawling.  
"Jesus Christ!" the guard shouted running round his desk. "You alright man? That your blood or his?!" He gaped.  
"Neither! Call the cops and an ambulance! And tie this bastard up with something til they get here I need to check Sarah and Toby are ok!" he shouted retracing Ollie's footsteps back up the stairs two at a time his goblins swirling round him urging haste.  
"Toby!" he yelled seeing the boy slumped by the door to their apartment bleeding from a cut on his head and his cheek already swelling. He sagged in relief as with a little urging Toby roused and sighed as he recognised Jareth.  
"He hurt Sarah bad!" Toby wailed catching Jareth's hand as he helped him sit up.  
"I know. I'm going to help her I swear. Stay still til the paramedics get here ok?" Jareth waited only long enough for Toby to nod before entering the apartment. The lounge looked like a bomb had gone off and against the far wall scattered amongst bloodied papers, with a smear of blood down the wall giving away her location lay Sarah. Her bruised and bloodied body looked like a dolls, her face pale beneath the blood. Grabbing a blanket off the sofa he gently covered her over hiding the torn garments and cuts from sight. With as much delicacy as he could muster he removed his gloves and took her face in his hands searching for some sign of life. Finding a weak pulse he filled her failing aura with energy whispering to her that Toby was safe and that he was there with her. How long he cradled her on the floor he didn't know but suddenly there were people all around him demanding to know what had happened. Time slowed as the activity of the people around him faded to a distant hum. He watched dispassionately as they loaded Sarah onto a gurney, attaching several machines to her and wrapping her in blankets. The frenzy of activity increased as for one moment her heart stopped beating, and the machines bleeped in increased urgency. He kept her hand in his, pumping all his strength into her body, willing her to live, for her heart to beat again. The paramedics performed CPR insisting he move out the way as they shocked her. A terrible calm settled over him as her heart started beating once more. Irregular, but beating. They covered her over again and ushered them into the lift, and beside him, in a wheelchair Toby caught hold of his hand. Jareth squeezed it gently moving closer to him to ruffle the boys hair, trying to ease his tears. In the lobby the paramedics rushed Sarah and Toby to the waiting ambulances.  
Go with Sarah Squirt and I'll be there as soon as I can. Be brave for her." Jareth whispered as Toby hugged him. On the boys lap Gob lay trembling in fear. "Stay with them both." He instructed the little thing praising the goblins who surrounded them in their own language.  
He turned and watched as police officers force marched Ollie out of the building into a waiting police car. He wanted to crush the mans head in his fists and break every bone in his body for what he had done, but instead turned and went to speak to the officer who beckoned him over to the security desk, swallowing his rage.  
"I'm sorry to have to ask this Sir." The officer began taking out his notebook and pen. "We need to verify events here before we can release you to the hospital." He flicked through his previous notes and then back to an empty page.  
"Can I take your name and your relationship to Miss Williams and her brother please?"  
"Certainly Officer, my name is Jareth Talamar." Jareth said glibly using an old surname. "I've known Sarah since she was little, and Toby since he was born. You could say we grew up together. I've been in England for several years though, and only a few weeks ago came back to the States on business, it seemed the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends." He lied amicably.  
"Can you explain what happened here?" The officer nodded noting down the details.  
"Sarah had spoken to me earlier in the day, we were at a launch party last night at her gallery and she wanted to get a few close friends together this evening to celebrate its success. I came a little earlier as I have some good news I wanted to share and also to pay her for the artwork I bought last night. The game on the TV.." He said gesturing behind the officer to the security desk, "Sidetracked me for a moment. Sarah's not a fan so she doesn't watch and I wanted to catch the last 5 minutes of play. I spoke to the security guard briefly and then we heard somebody running down the stairs towards us." Jareth again pointed to the stairwell behind him. "The man you've arrested was Sarah's ex boyfriend, she only just split up with him. I didn't recognise him until after he had slammed into me knocking himself to the floor in the process. Most of the blood you see on me is his or..." His voice caught as the vision of Sarah's mangled body fresh in his memory surfaced. "I ran back up the stairs and found Toby knocked out on the floor just inside Sarah's apartment. I managed to get him conscious and told him to wait for the paramedics to arrive. Then I went to help Sarah. Her heart stopped. The paramedics managed to get it going again but they said she was critical." Jareth stopped speaking. Rage making his eyes darken.  
"Thank you for your statement. Where can we get hold of you if we need further witness statements?"  
"At the Hilton. The concierge service can get hold of me, or I will be at the hospital with Sarah and Toby." Jareth sighed wanting to scrub his hands through his hair in frustration. How he hated being out of control. "I should have gone straight up to the apartment. I could have stopped this. Whats going to happen to him?"  
"Not your fault Mr Talamar. Nobody was to know. Mr Hall has been charged. He will be remanded in custody pending a hearing, and then hopefully a trial. If you can think of anything else that will help the case please just let us know."  
"I will. Can I get some things for Sarah from her apartment?"  
"You'd best go and check with the crew up there." Jareth nodded to the officer who strode from the building in time for Jareth to watch the police car drive off with Ollie. Clenching his jaw and his fists Jareth imagined a thousand terrible things he would do to the man before turning and taking the lift back to Sarahs apartment.


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this.**  
**All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.**

* * *

Entering the open front door he avoided most of the mess Ollie had created and set about wheedling permission from the officers to get a few things for Sarah from her room. Eventually they caved in confirming that her bedroom and therefore anything in it wasn't currently part of the crime scene. Relieved he escaped and closed the door to her room behind him breathing a sigh of relief. Glad that here at least things were undisturbed. He sat down on the edge of her bed and closed his eyes before summoning an orb.  
"Anyetta, how are things in the labyrinth?" he asked her hazy reflection.  
"Its not good Jareth. Darker than earlier. It's starting to affect the goblins a lot more." she sighed in worry. "Tell me you are going to fix things with Sarah?"  
"She's been hurt. I..."  
"Well damn well fix her, then the pair of you can fix the labyrinth!"  
"It may take more time than I thought."  
"We aren't going anywhere. Yet. Will you keep me up to date?"  
"As long as you tell my brother."  
"From the look on his face he already knows. You reordered time didn't you."  
Internally he winced.  
"It was necessary."  
"The cost..."  
"Is mine to bear as ever. I will contact you when I can, I will not return to the Labyrinth until things are, in hand here." He paused and took a deep breath.  
"Anyetta. I do not know how much time I will loose. How much... memory will be unavailable to me when I return, you must... not let me do something I may later regret."  
"Of course. I will try my best. Take care of her whilst you can." He crushed the orb into oblivion in his hand and stood orientating himself before heading to the bathroom. Here he caught the faint smell of the shower gel and shampoo she used mixed with the delicate floral scent of her new perfume. For a moment the scents overwhelmed him and he leaned heavily against the sink in anger and worry for her.  
"Get a grip." he snarled catching sight of his reflection in the mirror before running the hot water to wash his hands and face. Picking up her hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste plus her bag of makeup he walked back into the bedroom and placed them in a pile on the bed. catching sight of her mobile siting on the bedside table plugged in to charge. He couldn't abide the things but in this case common sense overrode his aversion. Picking it up he stuck it in a pocket of his suit before searching for a bag.  
Heading to the dresser he rummaged, taking out a few skinny t-shirts and then finding himself looking at a draw of underwear he resisted all temptation to grin like a teenager knowing she would be furious with him for snooping in her personal things. Carefully and neutrally he picked out a couple of plain pairs before heading to the wardrobe. At the bottom he found a large carryall and some jogging bottoms plus a warm top. Throwing them and the other things in the bag he made his way out to the lounge.  
In front of him a crime scene investigator was taking photos of the paperwork scattered across the floor whilst another one took measurements and notes of the blood smears across the wall and floor.  
"Find what you needed?" the officer asked walking over to him.  
"Yes thanks. Can I take Toby's bag as well? He will need it for school." he said nodding towards the discarded rucksack by the door. He had to wait whilst the officer checked with CSI but then agreed, ushering him from the apartment in case he interfered with any more evidence.

With so many curious onlookers around not to mention police Jareth stepped out of the building and went to the hospital the conventional way, hailing a cab. The driver happily talked endlessly about all the crimes he had seen or heard about in his time as a cabby, not really noticing that Jareth didn't respond. At the hospital entrance Jareth handed the cabby money for the fare, glad for once for his magic. A king in his realm wanted for nothing, but here in the human world money was king. He grimaced in distaste before shaking his head and entering the hospital.  
There were so many ways he could have gotten the information he needed, yet as usual he found himself being circumspect, drawing as little attention as possible. A far cry from his normal approach. The receptionist took her time finding the details of where Sarah and Toby were, and what was happening with them but once he had made a note of the wards he went back outside. The astringent smell of the hospital made him feel ill. Out in the front courtyard he found an empty bench and took out Sarah's phone, fortunately it was a simple matter to find Anita's number in her recent call list and he wasted no time ringing the number back from an earlier missed call.

"Sarah! I tried calling you earlier! Ollie was on the war path this morning, please tell me he's not been to see you!" Anita gasped as soon as she answered the call.  
"Anita, its Jareth."  
"Jareth? Wheres Sarah?!"  
"Ollie .. hurt her. I'm at the hospital with her and Toby." Jareth held the phone away from his ear as a torrent of swearing came from the other end.  
"Give me 15 mins, I'll be right there!" She finally said before putting the phone down. Jareth stared blankly at the phone for another minute before reluctantly searching her contact list for Karen's number. It was likely the hospital had already called her as Toby was still a minor, but he wanted to leave nothing to chance.  
"Mrs Johnson?"  
"Yes? Who is this?"  
"I'm sorry to disturb you Mrs Johnson, I'm a friend of Sarah's, shes been in an accident, Toby was hurt too, they are at the hospital now, I just wanted to make sure you knew."  
"That bloody girl will be the death of me! I knew she was too stupid to look after Toby!" She screeched down the phone.  
"With all due respect Mrs Johnson this wasn't Sarah's fault." Jareth said bristling instantly like a cat.  
"She was supposed to be looking after him not getting him hurt!"  
"Shes his sister not his mother. You are supposed to look after him you selfish cow." Jareth spat back before putting the phone down on her. Family duty done he sat back and waited for Anita his mind awash with what ifs and maybes.  
He found himself in a daze when Anita and Chris rolled up demanding to know everything that had happened and he let their questions roll over him like a tide until they eventually shut up.  
"You look like crap." Chris said handing him a coffee they had brought with them.  
"Toby is in the children's ward they want to keep him overnight and scan him in case because he has concussion." Jareth said moving over so Anita could flop down onto the bench next to him.

"Sarah is in surgery. I'm not sure what for but they told me we would only be able to see her if we were family which is stupid because her family don't care. They were asking about insurance as well but I've no idea. She looked fragile when they took her away." He knew he sounded lame but right then he didn't really care. He'd come to realise that Anita and Chris were the most down to earth and understanding humans he'd ever come across. They needed to be; dealing with the things they did.  
"Don't worry she's covered, I brought copies of her policy with me from the office." Anita nodded patting his arm in sympathy. He ignored the casualness of her touch.  
"Has anybody told her dad?" Chris asked cautiously lowering his voice even though there was nobody within hearing. Jareth shook his head.  
"Phoning Toby's mother was bad enough, vile woman. She had the nerve to blame Sarah for Toby being hurt." Jareth frowned remembering her outburst. Chris snorted.  
"She's a piece of work alright. We invited her to a launch party back when we first opened and all she did all night was complain nothing was good enough."  
"David has become a complete recluse. Doesn't help with him not being well himself though." Anita said standing up again. "OK let's go find a waiting room near wherever they are going to put her and get some more info from the doctors. Then you can tell us exactly what happened." She said ushering Jareth from the bench and pushing him and Chris towards the hospital entrance.

4 hours later they were finally given permission to go and see Sarah. She had been put in a private room on the badgering of Anita and lots of paper waving and as they reached the corridor they all suddenly went very quiet, apprehension of what would be waiting for them casting a grim expression on each face. Their fears were confirmed and Anita immediately burst into tears at the sight of her best friend.  
"I want to kill him." She snarled flinging herself down in a chair and gently touching Sarahs mostly bandage swathed hand. Chris's response was to appropriate the chart hanging from the bottom of the bed, a frown creasing his forehead as he tried to decipher the tangled writing.  
Jareth stood and stared. Horrified all over again he measured and weighed each bruise, cut and bandage that covered her, vowing to himself that Ollie would see the same and more before Jareth had finished with him. Her beautiful face was so pale and yet at the same time was covered in livid multi coloured bruises that were half hidden by swathes of white bandaging like a fragile mummy. The rest of her from what he could see was the same, though her right arm and hand was encased in a plaster cast. Machines clicked and whirred around her, all apparently content that she was still functioning, but her chest barely rose with each breath and the signature beep from the heart monitor betrayed how weak she was.  
"I saw some papers on the table in the apartment..." He said after a moment. Not sure why but feeling an urgent need to break the silence.  
"Papers?" Anita asked looking up. "She took only bills and receipts home from the sale last night..."  
"No. These papers were different. Transfer of shares." Jareth said not taking his eyes from Sarah.  
"Shares? Sarah owns most of the gallery, and her father and Toby both own smaller portions. Why would she be doing anything about transferring shares?"  
"Best guess is Ollie was trying to coerce her or her father into giving him part of the shares so he could take over the gallery. Toby mentioned he'd seen him at their dads house and couldn't understand why. When Toby asked his dad he said he was confused and that a man had come to see him but he didn't remember why. The downside of Alzheimer's." Chris said putting the clipboard of patient notes down again.  
Jareth finally allowed himself to move across the room and sat down into the comfy chair by the window, his gaze automatically returning to watch her.  
"I'm going to get us all some extra strength coffee." Chris announced in the silence and took off before Anita or Jareth could respond.

"I know you must be a powerful man Jareth, I don't care what you do, or why you are powerful, but if you love her the way we love her, you'll do everything you can to see Ollie dead. Fuck justice, there is no justice good enough for this." Anita hissed as she gently smoothed stray strands of hair from Sarah's face, the tone of her voice in complete contrast to her actions.  
Jareth frowned. "How much has she told you about me?" Anita stopped what she was doing and looked over at him.  
"Nothing. Shes more close mouthed about you than anybody else I've ever known her to be interested in. We shared a dorm room when we first went to college. She used to have nightmares that made her wake up screaming. But I've also heard her speak your name when shes asleep, more times than I can count. Shes known you a long time, but not in the happiest of circumstances. Shes had more counseling than Chris which is saying something and pops anti-depressants and sleeping tablets like they are Smarties. Yet when shes with you, its like she comes alive. Most of the time shes furious with you, and confused, but sometimes shes not, and it shows. She paints pictures of you and this crazy labyrinth filled with mental creatures, and talks to herself like there's a dog in the room or something that we can't see. Anybody else would have had her locked away in a padded cell a long time ago and believe me her step-mother tried, but when you talk to her, the things she mentions, and the things she paints, shes not making up, they are real, and you are involved." Anita frowned herself trying to put her thoughts into words as she looked back down at her best friend.  
"She trusts you implicitly, I hope you know how privileged you are. You may well be a King for all I know, but shes still too good for you. Shes too good for all of us, and she doesn't even realise it." Anita sniffled slumping back down in the chair behind her and rooting for a tissue in her bag.  
Jareth sat in his own chair, stumped and lost for words at the revelation Anita had just provided him with.  
"I saw Toby's mother. From the little she told me shes completely blaming Sarah for having an inappropriate taste in men who are nothing more than hooligans, weirdos and pathological killers; and is planning on banning Toby from staying with her any more. Such a lovely woman. She wouldn't let me go and see him either." Chris complained shuffling back into the room clutching coffees and chocolate bars. Anita immediately appropriated half the chocolate bars and a coffee. "Don't worry my fractious darling, shes a tough cookie. We'll get her though this. Wait til she wakes up and I tell her the good news." Chris grinned trying to lighten the mood in the room as he passed Jareth the 3rd coffee and a chocolate bar. He took a moment to grin wickedly as Jareth looked at the chocolate bar in disgust before placing it on the bedside table and taking a cautious sip of the fully leaded and loaded coffee.  
"Good news?" Jareth asked cautiously.  
"Ambrose hit the jackpot. Hes had so many commission requests from the launch party the boy has it made. I've had to do some fast dealing to make sure hes all set up, but he has to be the most successful artist on our books. Except for Sarah. Or at least she would be if she ever let anybody see her art, or buy it. How the hell did you manage to convince her to sell you those pieces last night? You been spiking her champagne?"  
"Hardly." Jareth replied sipping the coffee.  
"Martin!" Anita suddenly gasped standing up dropping her chocolate on the floor. "I didn't call him!"  
"Don't fret Rose Petal, I called him when I was waiting for the coffee. Hes changing the locks at the gallery and will go round and make sure they've done Sarahs apartment too. He said he'll come by later this evening for visiting hours with his wife.  
"You are a love. Thank you. Just not thinking straight." She sighed sitting back down and retrieving the chocolate.  
"I've had a commission request for Ambrose for a full set of 4 sculptures from an anonymous buyer, payment up front. They want more of the ones he did using Sarah as the model. I guess they will have to wait til shes in better shape to sit for him. If that twat has left any scars I'm going to skin him alive and make a toilet rug from his hide so i can piss on him whenever I miss the toilet." Chris rambled on. Cackling at the thought of all the painful evil things he would do to Ollie. Jareth prudently said nothing and looked out of the small window instead.  
Time seemed to slow in the semi twilight of the hospital room, Jareth watched her constantly, hardly noticing as doctors and nursing staff did their routine checks around them.

* * *

We are, as of the end of this chapter – up to the point of where I had written to. I will try my best to get on with getting new chapters up, but as ever, please bear with me! I also hope that some of this chapter explains a little of what happened with Jareth reordering time, and the consequences. I have always been of the thought that reordering time is "one of those things" that you only ever do in an absolute emergency. BIG magic = consequences. For Jareth, its the loss of his memory for X amount of time depending on how much time he reorders. For example reordering 13 hours of Sarah's life could have lost him years of memory. He had the choice to take her further back in time, but the more time – the more memory he looses so its a balancing act. *salute*


End file.
